Influence of drying plant material on yield, chemical composition, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of essential oil extracted from the Tunisian Cupressus sempervirens leaves.

The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of the drying time on the yield, chemical composition, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the essential oils (EOs) obtained from the Tunisian Cupressus sempervirens leaves. Adequate oils extraction conditions were determined. The drying time affected significantly the EOs yield of this plant. The major compounds found were; α-pinene, β-selinene, δ-3-carene, α-cubebene, β-caryophyllene and α-cedrol. Also, oils extracted from dried (60 and 90 days) leaves have high antioxidant properties due to the high content of (α-pinene and β-caryophyllene). Those constituents were known for their antioxidant activities. For the anti-inflammatory study, the inhibition was higher for the 60 days of drying at 100 μg mL-1.
Keywords— Cupressus sempervirens; leaf; essential oils; Microwave-assisted hydrodistillation; antioxidant activity; anti-inflammatory