Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils from Morocco: new advances on extraction, GC/MS analysis, and antioxidant activity

The essential oils (EOs) of Rosmarinus officinalis (Ro) are from two cities located in the eastern region of Morocco (Taourirt and Jerrada) were extracted using the steam distillation method in two cooperatives, namely Belahssan and Beni Yaala Zkara, respectively. The chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), in which 1,8-cineole (53.6%), alpha-pinene (12.3%), and camphor (9.6%) represented the major compounds for essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis from Taourirt (RoEOT). While, 1,8-cineole (42.3%), alpha-pinene (11.6%), and camphor (10.5%) were predominant in that of Jerada Rosmarinus officinalis (RoEOJ). The antioxidant activity of the two essential oils was assessed using, the free radical scavenging activity against the DPPH center dot, the ferric reducing power assay (FRAP), and the beta-carotene bleaching technique.

Automated summary

This study extracted essential oils from two cities in the eastern region of Morocco and determined their chemical composition using GC/MS. The antioxidant activity of the oils was also assessed.