Antioxidant activities and the chemical composition of the essential oil from Eucalyptus pulverulenta (Baby Blue Eucalyptus) grown in The Nilgiris

Abstract

Eucalyptus pulverulenta (Baby Blue Eucalyptus) originated from Australia is one of the rare species of Eucalyptus family (Myrtaceae) and well adapted to the hilly regions of India. Apart from the cut foliage utility of the plant, its leaves have a pleasant aroma like most of the members of Myrtaceae. This study was designed to extract essential oil using hydro distillation method. Four different types of samples were used (viz. tender leaves, mature sticks, mature leaves along with sticks and mature leaves alone) among which matured leaves were found to have maximum amount of essential oil. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil was carried out to analyse the chemical composition. The major component of the essential oil was found to be 1, 8 cineole. The antioxidant ability of the essential oil to scavenge the free radicals was assessed using three antioxidant assays: DPPH assay, ABTS assay and FRAP assay.