Paper Details

A comparative study of the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of roots, seeds and aerial parts of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)

Nafiseh Rajabi Gol, Rahele Zhiani Noghani, Mahmoud Chamsaz

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/5.12.250-257

Int. J. Biosci. 5(12), 250-257. December, 2014. (PDF)

Abstract:

The chicory plant (Cichorium intybus  L.) from the sunflower family, is a perennial plant that has a high medicinal value. The aim of this study is to compare the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of roots, seeds and aerial parts of chicory plants. In this study, after collecting plants, the extraction of essential oils was performed using the Water distillation (Clevenger) and used the  Gas Chromatography  and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry apparatus for analysis and identification of the essential oils. Of the 74 compositions identified, the major  compositions  of the essential oil from the chicory root  are: Camphor (20.71%), Cymene (15.06%), Gamma-Terpinen (13.24%), Cuminal )10.79%). The major compositions of the essential oil from the seeds are: O-Cymene (11.87%), Cuminal (10.74%), Gamma-Terpinene (10.44%),  Thymol (8.24%). The major compositions of the essential oil from the stem and flower are: p-Cymol (17.53%), Gamma-Terpinene (16.31%), Cuminal (12.38%), Carvacrol (9.26%). The major compositions of the essential oil from theleaf are: p-Cymo (17.12%), Gamma-Terpinene (15.18%), Cuminal (10.53%), Thymo (9.38%). In the second part ofthe study, three different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 mg per ml) of the essential oils were prepared. After preparation, the antioxidant activity of each dilution were determined using the DPPH assay. The results showed that the inhibition percent of the essential oils increased with increasing concentration.