Biological Activities and Chemical Compositions of Volatile Oil and Essential Oil from the Leaves of Blumea balsamifera

Abstract

A modified hydrodistillation was designed to isolate essential oil (EO) from the leaves of Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC. cultivated in Luodian County, China. Meanwhile, hydrodistillation-solvent extraction (HDSE) and simultaneous distillation and extraction (SDE) were used to collect volatile oils of Luodian B. balsamifera. Chemical compositions, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of volatile oil and EO of Luodian B. balsamifera were investigated. GC-MS and GC-FID analysis showed that caryophyllene, xanthoxylin, γ-eudesmol, α-cubenene were the main compounds of EO. In the tests of antioxidant and antimicrobial capabilities, the antioxidant activity of EO was better than the other two volatile oils, and EO had high antioxidant activity in DPPH free radical scavenging test (IC₅₀: 28.22 g/L), β-carotene bleaching inhibition test (IC₅₀: 3.27 g/L), and thiobarbituric acid reactive species assay. EO exhibited favourable antifungal activity (MIC: 62.5–250 μg/mL), and showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC: 2000 μg/ mL). Essential oil of B. balsamifera leaves has potential as antiseptic and antioxidant.

Keywords:

• Modified hydrodistillation
• GC-MS
• xanthoxylin
• DPPH
• β-carotene bleaching inhibition test