In vitro radical scavenging activity of essential oils from Brazilian medicinal plants: Croton zehntneri, Pterodon emarginatus and Schinopsis brasiliensis

the objective of this study was the phytochemical characterization of the essential oils of three traditionally used species, known as Croton zehntneri Pax et Hoffm., Pterodon emarginatus Vogel and Schinopsis brasiliensis Engl. The antioxidant activities were also determined by the use of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay1,2 and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay3,4. The essential oil of Pterodon emarginatus was extracted from the seeds, while the Schinopsis brasiliensis oil from the leaves and finally, the Croton zehntneri oils were obtained from leaves or bark. The qualitative and quantitative characterization of essential oils was carried out by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS); the constituents were identified by comparison of their mass spectra with those from NIST Mass Spectral Database.