Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil of Tabernaemontana catharinensis A. DC. leaves

The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Tabernaemontana catharinensis had their composition analysed by GCMS. A total of 18 substances were identified, consisting of a complex mixture of sesquiterpenes (83.52%), monoterpenes (5.46%) and triterpenes (4.56%). The main components in the oil were beta-caryophyllene (56.87%), alpha-cadinol (12.52%), 8S,13-cedran-diol (5.41%), a-terpineol (3.99%), beta-eudesmol (2.54%), caryophyllene oxide (2.51%) and ethyl iso-allocholate (2.03%) along with beta-cubebene, gamma-cadinene, cubenol, 1,8-cineol, o-cymene, curcumenol, spathulenol, friedeline and beta-sitosterol as minor constituents. An antioxidant property was tested with the oil obtained by means of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay; the oil presented interesting radical scavenging activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the composition and antioxidant activity of essential oil from the T. catharinensis collected from Brazil.