Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of the Essential Oil of Wild Carrot Daucus carota L. from Morocco

Ibrahim SBAI EL OTMANI, Lhouss

Abstract

The focus of this study was to determine the chemical composition of Moroccan carrot seeds essential oil using a GC-MS method and its antioxidant activity in methanolic solutions by assessing the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. The results of this work showed that the essential oil of Moroccan Daucus carota L. seeds is mainly constituted of the sesquiterpenes carotol and daucol (48.43 % and 18.60% respectively). The radical scavenging activity assay gave a concentration of essential oil required to inhibit 50% of the DPPH free radical of IC50=30,5 mg/ml demonstrating that this essential oil may be considered as an interesting source of natural antioxidants.