Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of Dacryodes edulis (G.

The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the resin of Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H. J. Lam was simultaneously analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty four components were identified in the essential oil and the main components were sabinene (21.8%), terpinene-4-ol (19.8%), α-pinene (17.5%) and p-cymene (11.3%), respectively. The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil was examined using an in vitro radical scavenging activity test and -carotene-linoleic acid assays. In the 2.2-Diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test system, the IC50 value of D. edulis oil was 68.5 ± 2.29 µg/ml. In the -carotene-linoleic acid test system, oxidation of linoleic acid was effectively inhibited by D. edulis (70.0%). The oil was less effective than butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Furthermore, the essential oil was evaluated for its antimicrobial activity using disc diffusion and microdilution methods. The essential oil showed better activity against bacterial species than against yeast