Chemical compositions, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oils of piper caninum blume

• Published in: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Main Author: Salleh W.M.N.H.W.; Ahmad F.; Yen K.H.; Sirat H.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-82255185767&doi=10.3390%2fijms12117720&partnerID=40&md5=0be9d7926645e010cd421b20575aaf1b

Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the fresh leaves and stems oils of Piper caninum were investigated. A total of forty eight constituents were identified in the leaves (77.9%) and stems (87.0%) oil which were characterized by high proportions of phenylpropanoid, safrole with 17.1% for leaves and 25.5% for stems oil. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by using β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching, DPPH radical scavenging and total phenolic content. Stems oil showed the highest inhibitory activity towards lipid peroxidation (114.9 ± 0.9%), compared to BHT (95.5 ± 0.5%), while leaves oil showed significant total phenolic content (27.4 ± 0.5 mg GA/g) equivalent togallic acid. However, the essential oils showed weak activity towards DPPH free-radical scavenging. Evaluation of antimicrobial activity revealed that both oils exhibited strong activity against all bacteria strains with MIC values in the range 62.5 to 250 μg/mL, but weak activity against fungal strains. These findings suggest that the essential oils can be used as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents for therapeutic, nutraceutical industries and food manufactures. © 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.