1. Major chemotypes and antioxidative activity of the leaf essential oils of Cinnamomum osmophloeum Kaneh. from a clonal orchard
- Author
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Ming-Chih Shih, Kuan-Hung Lin, Kai Ts ung Yang, Shih Ying Hwang, Min Yi Lin, and Shu Yin Yeh
- Subjects
biology ,Chemotype ,DPPH ,Cinnamomum osmophloeum ,General Medicine ,biology.organism_classification ,Cinnamaldehyde ,Analytical Chemistry ,law.invention ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Linalool ,law ,Botany ,Food science ,Essential oil ,Cinnamon Oil ,Food Science ,Cinnamomum - Abstract
Essential oils of 92 cutting clones from a clonal orchard of Cinnamomum osmophloeum Kaneh. were obtained by hydrodistillation and characterised by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Our results showed that the yields of essential oils ranged between 0.09% and 2.65% (vol/fresh wt). The constituents of essential oils varied among samples. The major chemotypes classified in the individual cutting clones were cinnamaldehyde (50 plants, representing 50–95% of the total volatiles), linalool (1 plant, 73.3%), β-cubebene (2 plants, 59.4% and 78.7%), and cinnamyl acetate (1 plant, 61.8%). The antioxidant activities of the four chemotypes were determined using a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The antioxidant activities of the essential oil decreased in the order of cinnamyl acetate > cinnamaldehyde > β-cubebene > linalool. Indigenous cinnamon oil extract showed a good free radical-scavenging capacity at all concentrations studied, except at 2 μg/ml. The scavenging activity increased with increasing concentration of the extract. The capability of the four essential oil chemotypes to reduce the stable radical, DPPH, to DPPH-H was assayed by a decrease in the IC50 values of 10.4 (cinnamyl acetate type) to 29.7 (linalool type) μg/ml. These results suggest that the leaf essential oil of C. osmophloeum possesses chemical compounds with antioxidant activity which can be used as natural preservatives in food and/or by the pharmaceutical industry. Trees in this plantation which can be used for further propagation for the production of chemotypes of interest were identified.
- Published
- 2007