ANTIOXIDANT, ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND GC-MS ANALYSIS OF Russelia equsetiformis ESSENTIAL OILS

In this research work the chemical composition by GC-MS, antioxidant and antimicrobial studies of Russelia equisetiformis (Fire cracker) flowers, leaves and stems essential oils were carried out. The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation and analysed by GC-MS for their chemical composition. The GC-MS analysis showed (E)-hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester as the major constituent of R. equisetiformis essential oils 17.237, 19.951 and 23.212% for the leaves, stems and flowers, respectively, followed by alpha-pinene 7.256, 9.595, 13.256% for leaves, stems and flowers. The stearic acid was found to be 9.291 and 7.198% in flowers and leaves, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the essential oils was determined by DPPH radical scavenging assay and inhibition in linoleic acid oxidation and it was found to be in the range of 12.25-25.31 and 65.32-89.21 mu g/ml, respectively. The potential of the essential oils against the selected fungal and bacterial strains was evaluated in present studies by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays.