Powerful antioxidants within Cupressus arizonica Greene female cones and leaves essential oil.

The composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil obtained from the female cones and leaves of Cupressus arizonica were assessed using the DPPH assay. The total oil yields obtained through hydrodistillation from the female cones and leaves were 1.9% (v/w) and 0.65% (v/w), respectively. The GC-MS chemical analysis of the oils from the female cones and leaves resulted in the identification of 17 and 45 compounds, respectively. Moreover, the essential oils obtained from C. arizonica female cones were predominantly composed of monoterpene hydrocarbons, with α-pinene being the most abundant component at 72.20%. In contrast, the oil extracted from the leaves was rich in oxygenated monoterpenes, particularly umbellulone (17.33%). The oils extracted from the leaves exhibited remarkable DPPH radical scavenging activity, displaying a value of 95.6%. This value was comparable to that of ascorbic acid (99.6%) and BHT (96.9%) when tested at a concentration of 59 mg/mL.

Chemical composition of essential oil from female cones of Cupressus arizonica Greene.

The hydrodistilled volatile essential oils extracted from the female cones of Cupressus arizonica Greene that harvested in winter and spring seasons were analysed for their chemical composition by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Twenty-four and seventeen components were identified, accounting for winter (95.5%) and spring (96.9%) of the total oils volume, respectively. Monoterpenoids (winter 93.7% and spring 95.0%) dominated the identified components in the essential oils, followed by a small portion of sesquiterpenoids (winter 1.8% and spring 1.9%). Monoterpene hydrocarbons (MH) (winter 90.9% and spring 94.9%) were the principal subclasses of components with α-pinene (winter 42% and spring 72%), ß-myrcene (winter 18.5% and spring 7.7%), δ-3-carene (winter 11.3% and spring 5.1%), limonene (9.4% for winter), and ß-pinene (5.3% for spring) as main constituents. Limonene (9.4%), camphor (0.2%), exo-methylcamphenilol (0.2%), terpinene-4-ol (0.6%), ß-citronellol (0.9%), and bornyl acetate (0.3%) were representative of the monoterpene hydrocarbon and oxygen-containing monoterpenoids (OM) in winter essential oil.