In the present study the volatile oil obtained by hydro-distillation from leaves of Schinus molle was analyzed by GC/MS and measured for its antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging assay (DPPH). Fifteen components were identified in the volatile oil, representing 99.99% of the total oil. The identified components in the volatile oil were a-pinene (2.53%), cis-ocimene (5.65%), a-phellandrene (27.67%), sabinene (17.41%), adamantane (0.67), cis-caryophyllene (1.98%), a-muurolene (1.76%), valencene (5.27%), calarene (13.06%), b-cubebene (0.70%), b-selinene (1.13%), a-selinene (2.81%), (+)-cycloisosativene (3.99%), D-cadinene (9.22%), and g-selinene (6.23%). The total antioxidant activity of the tested volatile oil was 40±1.23% and this value is lower that the TAA% observed by Tannic acid (90±5.12%).
Antioxidant activity, volatile oil, Schinus molle, DPPH method, α-phellandrene
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