ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA FROM IRAQ

The essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. growing spontaneously in Iraq was investigated by GC and GC/MS for the first time. The oil was extracted from the flowers by hydro-distillation. Thirty-four components amounting to 98.91 % of the oil were identified. The major component being linalool (24.63 %). The other significant constituents were camphor (13.58 %), linalyl acetate (8.89 %), (Z)-β-ocimene (7.59 %), 1,8-cineole (7.14 %), borneol (6.41 %), (E)-β-ocimene (4.76 %), hotrienol (4.42 %), hexyl butyrate (2.96 %), α-bisabolol (1.13 %) and caryophyllene oxide (1.02 %). The strong antioxidant activity of L. angustifolia oil was also examined using the stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. Antioxidant activity of the oil was expressed as percentage of DPPH radical inhibition and IC50 values (μg/ml). Values of percentage inhibition ranged from 3.28 to 88.91% for 7.81 μg/ml and 1000 μg/ml, respectively with an IC50 value of 216 μg/ml for oil. The results suggest the use of lavender oil as effective natural antioxidants