Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Pistacia lentiscus essential oil from Southern Italy (Apulia)

The essential oil extracted from twenty-one plants of Pistacia lentiscus L. growing wild in southern Italy (Salento, Apulia), were investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Thirty-eight components, representing more than 75% of the total oil constituents, were identified. The main compounds (with >5% on average) were alpha-pinene, terpinen-4-ol, delta-cadinene and beta-caryophyllene. Four chemotypes were identified: terpinen-4-ol/alpha-pinene, beta-caryophyllene/delta-cadinene/alpha-pinene, beta-myrcene/delta-cadinene and alpha-pinene. Essential oils showed a radical scavenging activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; DPPH test) ranging between about 21% and 35%.