Extract and Fixed Oil of Moroccan Lavandula dentata Aerial Parts as Potential Antioxidants.

Aromatic and medicinal plants constitute a vast source of bioactive compounds, with remarkable chemical diversity. The aim of the present study is to investigate the antioxidant activity of extracts and fixed oils of Lavandula dentata L. aerial parts. Dried powdered aerial parts of Lavandula dentata was extracted with methanol by refluxing. Different solvent fractions of aqueous methanol extract of L. dentata aerial part were prepared by successive extraction in chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol in order of increasing polarity. Fixed oil of L. dentata aerial parts was obtained by maceration in chloroform at room temperature. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the crude methanol extract was determined using standard methods. The antioxidant activity of the crude methanol extract, fractions, and fixed oil was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Total polyphenolic and flavonoid contents determination revealed that L. dentata crude methanol extract have high contents of polyphenols (27.43 mg GAE/g), and flavonoids (20.62 mg QE/g). The ethyl acetate fraction of L. dentata exhibited the highest antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ value of 16.41 ± 0.11 μg/mL as measured by the DPPH radical scavenging assay. The n-butanol extract also demonstrated notable antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ value of 42.32 ± 0.86 μg/mL. The fixed oil extracted from L. dentata aerial parts demonstrated mild antioxidant activity, with IC₅₀ of 414.2 mg/mL. The findings from this study have shown that Lavandula dentata aerial parts contains bioactive compounds with antioxidant potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]