Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Potential of Essential Oils from Leaves and Flowers of Allophylus africanus

The composition of the essential oil of the leaves and flowers of A. africanus from Nigeria were analyzed by GC-MS. Thirty-two compounds representing 88.7 % of the essential oil were characterized from the leaves parts of A. africanus. The essential oil was dominated by 2-(1,1-dimethylethoxy)-ethanol (22.97 %), caryophyllene oxide (18.56 %), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene (10.0 %), 1-Ethyl-1,4-dimethylbenzene (5.76 %) and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (4.42 %). A total of 35 compounds, representing 93.9 % of the total oil were identified from flowers parts of A. africanus. The major constituents were caryophyllene oxide (51.6 %), beta-caryophyllene (5.70 %), humulene-1,2-epoxide (5.43 %) and geranylacetone (4.32 %). The antioxidant potential of the leaves and flowers essential oils of A. africanus was determined on the basis of scavenging activity of the stable 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. The percentage inhibitions of the leaves and flowers essential oils were 50.01 and 58.49 % respectively higher than 13.84 % for the positive control, ascorbate. The results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine for possessing considerable therapeutic potential. The results also supported further studies on A. africanus.