Chemical Profiling and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oil of Zingiber officinale Roscoe from Two Different Altitudes of Uttarakhand

To compare and investigate the essential oil constituents, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe from two different altitudes of Uttarakhand. Essential oil obtained from ginger rhizomes by Clevenger apparatus were characterized by Gas chromatography - Mass spectroscopy. Constituents accounting, of 82.36 % from higher altitude and 84.44 % of lower altitude, were identified. The oil was subjected to screening for their possible activity by means of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and metal chelating assay. Results from the study indicate that essential oil of ginger from higher altitude possess good antioxidant potential as compared to lower altitude. Both antioxidant assays showed significant negative correlation and total phenolic content showed significant positive correlation with altitude of collection place. This variation may be due to different climatically and geographical conditions. In our knowledge this is the first report on the essential oils composition of ginger rhizomes collected from higher and lower altitude of Uttarakhand.