Scientific Research and Essays Vol. 2 (11), 491-495, November 2007 
ISSN 1992-2248 © 2007 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Volatile components, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Dacryodes buettneri H. J. Lam. essential oil from Gabon

Louis-Clément Obame^1,4, Jean Koudou^2*, Jean-Claude Chalchat³, Ismael Bassolé¹, Prosper Edou⁴ , Aboubakar S. Ouattara¹ and Alfred S. Traore¹

¹Centre de Recherche en Sciences Biologiques, Alimentaires et Nutritionnelles, Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biotechnologie, Université de Ouagadougou 03 BP 7131 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso.

²Laboratoire de chimie des substances naturelles, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Bangui, BP 908 Bangui République Centrafricaine.

³Laboratoire de chimie des hétérocycles et des glucides, chimie des huiles essentielles. Les Cezeaux, 63177 Aubière France.

⁴Ecole Normale Supérieure, laboratoire pluridisciplinaire de chimie, BP 7131 Libreville, Gabon.

*Corresponding author. E– mail: jean_koudou@yahoo.fr.  Fax: +226.50.36.85.73.

Accepted 31 October, 2007

Abstract

The water-distilled oil obtained from resin of Dacryodes buettneri H.J.Lam, Burseraceae from Gabon was examined by GC and GC/MS. The analysis led to the identification of 28 components. The essential oil is characterized by a high proportion of terpinen-4-ol (27.33%) along with p-cymene (19%), α-pinene (13.23%), sabinene (4.40%) and isoascaridol (4%). The in vitro antioxidant activity was investigated with two methods: 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrasyl radical (DPPH) scavenging assay and β-carotene bleaching test. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) was employed as positive control. The essential oil showed antioxidant and DPPH radical scavenging activities, and it displayed the inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The essential oil was tested against twelve strains of bacteria using a broth microdilution method. D. buettneri essential oil exhibited antibacterial activity against almost microorganisms tested; however it was unable to inhibit growth of Streptococcus pyogenes.

Key words: Dacryodes buettneri, Burseraceae, essential oil, antioxidant, antibacterial.