Aromatic plants of tropical West Africa.: Part XIV.: Chemical and biological investigation of Lippia multiflora Mold. essential oil from Benin

The essential oil of the leaves of Lippia multiflora collected in Benin was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by capillary GC and GC/MS. Thirty-six components, representing 96.5 % of oil were identified. The sample consisted mainly of monoterpenes. The major constituents were 1,8-cineole (39.9 %), sabinene (11.1 %), linalool (10.9 %) and alpha-terpineol (10 %). The antioxidant and antiradical activities of the oil was found to be low comparatively to that of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).