Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of essential oil of <i>Hedychium greenii</i> and <i>Hedychium gracile</i> from India

<p>The chemical constituents of the essential oils hydrodistilled from rhizome parts of <i>Hedychium greenii</i> W.W. Sm. and <i>Hedychium gracile</i> Roxb, of family Zingiberaceae, growing in India, were analysed for the first time by GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively. A total of 30 and 29 components representing 99.62 and 96.74% of the total oil were identified in the essential oils of <i>H. greenii</i> and <i>H. gracile</i>, respectively. The major components of <i>H. greenii</i> were bornyl acetate (31.32%), <i>α</i>-pinene (14.49%), camphene (12.81%) and limonene (10.55%), whereas <i>H. gracile</i> was dominated by <i>β</i>-pinene (25.24%), <i>γ</i>-terpinene (24.62%), terpinen-4-ol (14.87%) and 1,8-cineole (7.51%). Essential oils were assessed for antioxidant potential using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay. <i>H. greenii</i> oil exhibited stronger antioxidant potential as compared to <i>H. gracile</i> oil and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Thus, <i>H. greenii</i> rhizome oil has the potential to be used as an alternative source of antioxidant.</p

Physicochemical characteristics of the <i>Lasiococca comberi</i> Haines seeds

<p>Physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid composition of <i>Lasiococca comberi</i> Haines (Euphorbiaceae), an endangered forest tree species, were determined for the first time. The oil, protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents in seeds were 41.5, 13.8, 22.2 and 11.6%, respectively. The refractive index, pH, specific gravity, saponification value, iodine value, peroxide value and <i>p</i>-anisidine value of seed oil were 1.4781, 6.4, 0.9, 178.4 mg KOH/g, 196 g I₂/100 g of oil, 5.1 mEq O₂/kg and 188.4, respectively. The predominant fatty acids were linolenic acid (65.3%), oleic acid (13.8%), linoleic acid (7.1%) and palmitic acid (5.3%). HPLC analysis revealed the presence of <i>α</i>-tocopherol (13.2 mg/100 g) and <i>γ</i>-tocopherol (6.3 mg/100 g) as the major tocopherols. The results indicated that <i>L. comberi</i> seed oil can be classified as drying oil having possible applications in different industries and as an important dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids.</p

Characterization of Kewda volatile components by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry

<p>Kewda (<i>Pandanus fascicularis</i> Lam.) is a well known medicinal and aromatic plant. The paper aims to precisely characterize volatile constituents present in Kewda flower oil using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS). A total of 159 components were identified due to enhanced chromatographic separation and mass spectral deconvolution of GCxGC-TOFMS. On the basis of its chemical structure, the identified compounds were grouped into hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, ketones, esters, nitrogen compounds, aldehydes, acids, lactones, halides and sulfur containing compounds. Ethers were the major components. The predominant compounds identified by GCxGC-TOFMS were kewda ether, <i>ortho</i>-cymene and terpinen-4-ol. A database containing retention indices of compounds was created for the bi-dimensional column, thus proving to be a remarkable step for analysis of constituents using a GCxGC system. GCxGC-TOFMS separated a number of co-eluting components which were unresolved on a single GC column.</p

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of essential oil from leaves and rhizomes of <i>Curcuma angustifolia</i> Roxb

<p>The essential oil extracted from rhizome and leaf of <i>Curcuma angustifolia</i> Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) was characterised by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 32 and 35 identified constituents, comprising 92.6% and 92% of total leaf and rhizome oil, respectively. Curzerenone (33.2%), 14-hydroxy-<i>δ</i>-cadinene (18.6%) and <i>γ</i>-eudesmol acetate (7.3%) were the main components in leaf oil. In rhizome oil, curzerenone (72.6%), camphor (3.3%) and germacrone (3.3%) were found to be the major constituents<i>.</i> Antioxidant capacities of oil were assessed by various methods, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and reducing power ability (RPA). Based on the results, the leaf oil showed more antioxidant potential as compared to rhizome oil and reference standards (ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)). Thus, the leaf essential oil of <i>C. angustifolia</i> can be used as an alternative source of natural antioxidant.</p