Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oil of Sawdust from Moroccan Thuya (Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters

Abstract

The present study was dedicated to the study of the chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of the essential oils from the sawdust of Tetraclinis articulata in Morocco (from Khemisset region). The yield of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from sawdust was 2.19%. The determination of the chemical composition of Tetraclinis articulata essential oils (TAEO) was carried out by GC-SM analysis. The results that 22 volatile compounds were identified in the sawdust part of T. articulata, representing 87.25% of the total composition. The study of TAEO antioxidant activity was assessed by three different methods: the trapping of free radical DPPH, bleaching assay ABTS, and the reduction of iron (FRAP). The results of DPPH test showed that TAEO (IC50=0.0144 mg/mL) has a very interesting antioxidant activity compared to the ascorbic acid used as reference (IC50=0.0184 mg/mL). These results reveal promising prospects for the future exploitation of TAEO as a potential source of natural antioxidant substances that may be used for future investigations.