Screening of chemical composition of essential oil, mineral elements and antioxidant activity in Pulicaria Undulata (L.) C. A. Mey from Iran

Pulicaria undulata (L.) C. A. Mey is a medicinal plant used to treat inflammation. It is also an insect repellent and herbal tea. In this study, concentration of macro minerals (that is, Ca, K and Mg) and micro minerals (major and trace elements) (that is, Fe, Cu, Na and Mn) and P, were estimated in Pulicaria undulata from the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Sample preparation using microwave digestion was used for mineralization of this plant. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) and UV-Visible spectrophotometry were used to quantify metal levels and Phosphorus, respectively. Essential oil from aerial parts of P. undulata was obtained by hydrodistillation. The chemical constituents of essential oil of aerial parts were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS techniques. The main components identified in the oil were 4-Terpineole (20.12%), alpha terpinene (4.02%), gamma terpinene (7.00%), cis-sabinene hydrate (8.29%), Linalool (5.60%), 1S-cis-calamenene (13.37%) and Junipene (8.66%). In addition, antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method.