Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of hydrosol extracts obtained by liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) of Daucus muricatus L.

Chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of hydrosol extracts of roots, aerial parts, stems, leaves and flowers of Daucus muricatus L. obtained by liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) were reported for the first time. Gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses of hydrosol extracts showed only oxygenated compounds: thirty-six monoterpenes, fifteen sesquiterpenes, eight phenylpropanoids, eighteen non-terpenic compounds and one diterpene. Antioxidant activity was evaluated as free radical-scavenging capacity (RSC). RSC was assessed by measuring the scavenging activity of hydrosol extracts on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH). The best antioxidant activity was exhibited by flower and root hydrosol extracts at low concentrations (more than 100% at 20 μg/mL). Hydrosols produced by roots and aerial parts exhibited high contents of alcohol and phenolic compounds. However, a high result of ferric reducing antioxidant power for all hydrosol extracts tested was observed.