Studies on the antioxidant activity of the essential oil and extract of Tunisian Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast. (Cupressaceae)

This study analyses the chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activity of both the essential oil and the 80% aqueous acetone extract of Tetraclinis articulata leaves. The GC-MS analysis of the essential oil identified 66 components that comprise 93.5% of the oil. The major constituents of the oil are: bornyl acetate (31.4%), α-pinène (24.5%) and camphor (20.3%). Antioxidant activities of the samples were determined using four different test systems, namely DPPH, β-carotene/linoleic acid, reducing power and metal chelating activity assay. Test results from the DPPH system showed the strongest radical scavenging activity was exhibited by the 80% aqueous acetone extract (IC(50) = 5.5 µg mL(-1)), which was two times higher than the positive control (BHT). The amount of the total phenolics, flavonoids and condensed tannins was very high in the 80% aqueous acetone extracts. The correlation between the antioxidant activity potential and total phenolic level of the extract was noted.