ANTIOXIDANT SCREENING OF HERB AND SPICY-DERIVED ESSENTIAL OILS

Essential oils are volatile secondary metabolites found in various species of aromatic and medicinal plants. They contain several compounds that impart diverse bioactivities, including antioxidant effect. In this context, these oils have been used in food industry as natural food preservatives, providing extended shelf life, quality, and safety. Despite the various beneficial effects reported in the literature, there is a range of essential oils that require further studies related to their antioxidant properties. The present study aims to determine the antioxidant capacity (AXOC) of a set of nine essential
oils (Cymbopogon winterianus, Lippia gracillis, Lippia sidoides, Mentha arvensis, Ocimum gratissimum, Piper aduncum, Piper hispidum, Zingiber officinale). The oils were obtained
by hydrodistillation process, and their components identified by CG-MS. The AOXC of the oils was determined using the ferric reducing method (FRAP) and ABTS radical scavenging assay. L. gracillis, L. sidoides, and O. gratissimum exhibited the highest ferric reducing power with values of 599, 1301, and 7846 μmol Fe2+/g, respectively. Regarding ABTS• scavenging activity, L. sidoides, L. gracillis, P. hispidum, and O. gratissimum stood out with values of 1076, 1121, 1348, and 1441 mmol TEAC/g, respectively. The CG-MS analysis of these oils revealed the presence of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and phenylpropanoids as main chemical classes in all essential oils. The most active oil, O. gratissimum, displayed eugenol (48.3%) and 1,8-cineol (19.7%) as the main components. These results support further research into the antioxidant capacity of essential oils and their potential use as food preservatives.