PHYTOCHEMICALAND ANTIOXIDANT STUDIES ON THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF THE RHIZOME OF CURCUMA AERUGINOSA ROXB.

Abstract

The genus Curcuma, of Zingiberaceae, comprises of 80 species, some of which have been used in traditional systems of medicine (Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani) for a long time. The present investigation was conducted to exam the chem. compn. and in vitro antioxidant activity of essential oil of Curcumaaeruginosa Roxb. The GC- MS anal. of the oil has shown a profile of 18 compds. Ethoxybenzene, Santolinatriene, Eucalyptol and Camphene are the two major components. The antioxidant activity was done by using 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, total antioxidant assay, Ferric reducing antioxidant power and nitric oxide scavenging assay. The IC 50 value of essential oil revealed that the oil had potent antioxidant activity, so this study has proved that the essential oil could provide an significant bio-resource of antioxidants for using in food and pharmaceutical industry. [on SciFinder(R)]