Identification of volatile compounds in essential oil and extracts of Ocimum micranthum Willd leaves using GC/MS

Abstract

Summary. In this study, the volatile compounds present in the essential oil as well as aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ocimum micranthum Willd leaves were determined using gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC/MS). The presence of eugenol and methyleugenol in the three fractions was found, indicating that both compounds have major presence in plant leaves. The application of solid-phase extraction with a C18 SPE cartridge and subsequent elution with isooctane allowed us to analyze the aqueous extract of Ocimum micrantum Willd leaves by GC/MS and to extract selectively eugenol and methyleugenol.

Industrial relevance. The presence of eugenol, methyleugenol, caryophyllene, humulene and eucalyptol in some extracts from Ocimum micranthum Willd leaves, as well as the medicinal properties that these compounds have demonstrated in other studies, explains the employment of this plant in the folk medicine. Previous research has shown that the eugenol possesses antioxidant, antimutagenic, antigenotoxic, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. Therefore, the major presence of the eugenol in the essential oil, ethanolic and aqueous extracts from Ocimum micranthum Willd leaves, represents an attractive opportunity for the use of any of these three fractions in the pharmaceutical and biomedical areas, specifically in the treatment of some types of cancer

Keywords. Ocimum micranthum Willd; extract of plants; essential oil; eugenol; methyleugenol; GC/MS