Chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of free volatile aglycones from basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) compared with its essential oil

The present paper examines the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of free volatile aglycones from basil compared to their essential oil. The comparison of chemical composition of volatile aglycones with the chemical composition of essential oil reveals four common compounds: eugenol, chavicol, linalool and alpha-terpineol. For the evaluation of the mentioned antioxidant capacities, two different methods were performed: the 2,2'-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method (DPPH) and ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP). DPPH method shows that free volatile aglycones possess good antioxidant properties comparable with that of the essential oil and well-known antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), but less than pure eugenol. The results obtained by FRAP method show that these compounds are some less effective antioxidants than essential oil and BHT. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.