Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils of Thymus broussonetii Boiss. and Thymus algeriensis Boiss. from Morocco

International audienceObjective: To characterize the chemical composition of the aerial part essential oil of Thymus broussonetii (T. broussonetii) Boiss. and Thymus algeriensis (T. algeriensis) Boiss. from Morocco. Methods: The essential oil used in this study was isolated by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus according to the European Pharmacopoeia. The chemical composition was investigated by using gas chromatography-retention indices ans gas chromatography mass spectrography. Results: The main compounds of T. brousonetii oil were borneol (27.6%), p-cymene (20.9%) and carvacrol (15.7%). The T. algeriensis oil was dominated by borneol (18.3%) followed by camphene (11,8%), camphre (10,0%) and myrcene (8,6%). The present work was also conducted to evaluate antioxidant ativityof essential oil using a DPPH test system. The results showed that T. broussonetii oil exhibited higher antioxidant activity than the T. algeriensis oil (IC50 value: 90 μg/ mL and 1800 μg/mL, respectively). Conclusions: These results suggest that the essential oil of T. broussonetii Boiss. and T. algeriensis Boiss. from Morocco may be a new potential source as a natural antioxidant

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils and solvent extracts of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. from Morocco

International audienceThe aim of this work was to characterize the essential oils and solvent extracts of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. From Morocco in terms of chemical composition and antioxidative activity. Analysis of the essential oil of F. vulgare was carried out using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectral (GC-MS). The main components were limonene (20.8%) and β-pinene (17.8%), followed by myrcene (15.0%) and fenchone (12.5%). The antioxidant activities of this aromatic plant were evaluated using a DPPH test system to suggest it as a new potential source of natural antioxidants. The amounts of phenolic and flavonoid compounds of solvent extracts (diethyl ether and ethyl acetate) were determined spectrometrically. Furthermore, The DPPH scavenging activity of extracts increased in the order essential oil < diethyl ether extract < ethyl acetate extract < ascorbic acid. Finally, a relationship was observed between the antioxidant activity potential and total phenolic and flavonoid levels of the extract