Chemical composition and antioxidant activity in the essential oil of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees with medicinal interest
P.R. Estevam Ribeiro, I. F. Montero, S. A. M. Saravia, VP Ferraz, Rafaela A. Santos, Jhunior Marcía, Bernardo Morais Linhares
Abstract
Cinnamon is an evergreen tree belonging to the genus Cinnamomun; it is commonly founded in various tropical countries, consisting of more than 250 species of trees and shrubs in the Lauraceae family. This plant has had great medicinal importance in traditional medicine since ancient times. In this research, the chemical composition of the essential oil of Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees was evaluated. The samples were extracted from the leaves and stem. The main components founded from the leaves were: Benzyl benzoate (74.2%), α-felandrene (6.9%), α-pinene (3.0%), and linalool (2.7%). Cinnamaldehyde (31%), linalool (13.3%), benzyl benzoate (11.3%), and cinnamaldehyde acetate (8.2%) stood out in the essential oil of the stem. The antioxidant activity was determined by the DPPH method, obtaining an inhibition percentage for concentrations of 80 ïg mL-1, 59.17 ± 0.11% for the leaves and 61.34 ± 0.11% for the stem. Key words: Benzyl benzoate, medicinal plant, cinnamon, free radicals.