Abstract:

The essential oils of seed and mace nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt) were obtained by steam distillation. The components are characterized by gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. In total, nine components were identified in seed oil and ten components were identified in mace oil. The main components in seed oil are linalool (10.696 ± 0.187%), α-terpineol (13.384 ± 0.808%) and myristicin (61.197 ± 0.613%). While, the main components in mace oil are α-Pinene (13.975 ± 0.159%), sabinene (26.407± 0.456%), βmyrene (14.193± 0.429%), safrole (6.493± 0.326%) and myristicin (27.279 ± 0.735%). The antioxidant activity was identified using both DPPH and ABTS methods. In addition, this effect may be specific due to the chemical components of the oil. The seed oils displayed high DPPH free radical-scavenging activity with IC50 value of 2.48±0.42 µg/mL and 2.80±0.24 µg /ml respectively, and the ABTS free radical-scavenging activity with IC50 value of 1.09±0.25 µg/mL and 2.92±0.59 µg /ml in mace oil when compared with synthetic antioxidants BHT (1,03±0.10μg/mL) and (1.52±0.11μg/mL).

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