CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ESSENTIAL OIL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF Postia puberula, AN ENDEMIC SPECIES FROM IRAN

Abstract

Essential oils from the leaves, stems and flowers of Postia puberula at the flowering stage were analyzed using GC and GC/MS. The results showed that leaves are abundant of cis-3-hexenyl benzoate (10.75%), benzyl benzoate (8.16%) and caryophyllene oxide (8.12%). The main compounds of stems were benzyl benzoate (21.92%), E-nuciferol (11.58%) and dibutyl phthalate (7.08%), while major components of flowers were benzyl benzoate (9.99%), caryophyllene oxide (8.14%) and E-nuciferol (8.13%). The antioxidant activities of methanol extract were evaluated by DPPH and β-carotene/linoleic acid assays. The results showed that in both methods, leaves had stronger antioxidant activity than other organs.