Asma Allal, Nassima Benmansour, Selles Chaouki and Tabti Boufeldja
Tlemcen University, Algeria
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Clin Exp Pharmacol
The present study focused on the preliminary phytochemical screening of Daphne gnidium L. and was undertaken in order to determine the content and composition of the aerial part essential oil. D. gnidium L. belonging to family thymelaeceae, is an evergreen shrub that grows in the Mediterranean area specially in the north west of Algeria and can reach 2m in height. This plant has been used to dye the wool and the silk in yellow or in brown colors. This species has various biological activities and has been used in the traditional medicine in the treatment of hepatitis and other diseases. Essential oils were obtained by using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and were then chemically characterized by Gas Chromatography (GC-FID) and Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) methods. Preliminary qualitative chemical tests for aqueous and ethanolic extracts revealed the presence of various classes of compounds such as tannins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and sterols. Chromatographic analyses showed that this essential oil is a complex mixture of terpenes and that the most abundant chemicals were oxygenated monoterpene compounds, with carvone (16.51%) as the major compound. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report in the literature addressing the profile of Daphne gnidium essential oils.
Asma Allal is currently a doctoral student in natural products chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Tlemcen (Algeria). She is an active member of the natural substances team of the laboratory of natural and bioactive substances of the chemistry department. She is currently working on chemical characterizations, the investigation of some biological activities and the valorization of underutilized plant extracts from western Algeria.
E-mail: mimi-asma@hotmail.com