ISOLATION AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF VOLATILE OILS OF CENTRATHERUM ANTHELMINTICUM AND CITRUS AURANTIFOLIA

Abstract

Introduction: Centratherum anthelminticum is an ethnomedicinal plant in India and a common ingredient in Ayurvedic formulations. The pharmacological effects of C. anthelminticum ranges from anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial to recently found anti-cancer activity. Citrus aurantifolia (Rutaceae) is mainly used in daily consumption, in many cultural cuisines, and in juice production. It is widely used because of its antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antifungal, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammation, anti-lipidemia, and antioxidant properties. Objective: To isolate and identify the compounds in the essential oils from the seeds of C. anthelminticum Kuntz and peels of C. aurantifolia (Christm.) swingle collected from the Delhi NCR region. Materials and Methods: The essential oils from seeds of C. anthelminticum Kuntz and peels of C. aurantifolia were extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by gas chromatograph and gas chromatography–mass spectrometer. Results: Chemical characterization of the volatile oil and seeds of C. anthelminticum Kuntz showed that the oil is greenish and semi viscous. The major component of the oil was found to be beta-caryophyllene (64.43%), beta-pinene (9.81%), alpha-humulene (4.64%), caryophyllene oxide (2.24%), gamma-elemene (1.73%), limonene (1.48%) and myrecene (0.11%). Whereas the major constituents of volatile oil from peels of C. aurantifolia comprises of twenty nine components viz.  sesquiterpne alcohols (20.68%) including  Globulol, Hurmularel, 6 - dien - 3 - ol. (-) -Spathulenol, ledol,alpha-bisabolol, - (-) Spathulenol and Sesquíterpene esters (20.68%), caryophyllene, alpha- Farnesene, alpha-Caryophylline, gamma -elemene, gamma-.neoclovene, monoterpene alcohol (13.79%). Conclusion: The present study revealed the chemical composition of essential oils of both the drugs under study which can be used as references in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.