Comparative chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activities of essential oil isolated from the leaves of Cinnamomum tamala and Pimenta dioica.

Cinnamomum tamalaNees and Eberm (tejpat) andPimenta dioica(L.) Merr (pimento) leaves are commonly used for flavouring food and widely used in pharmaceutical preparations because of their hypoglycemic, carminative and stimulant properties. In this study, we compared the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of tejpat and pimento essential oils by employing variousin vitromethods. GC and GC-MS analyses were done to find out the chemical composition, and the main constituent identified in tejpat and pimento leaf oils was eugenol. Both the oils showed significant radical scavenging activity against DPPH and superoxide radicals with a potent metal chelating activity and were compared with that of standard compound, eugenol. Among the two oils, tejpat oil showed better activity in terms of antioxidative potential. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]