LAUSR

Abstract This study aimed at isolating, characterizing and evaluating the antioxidant potential of fruit essential oil of Laggera pterodonta native to Nigeria. Pulverized fruits (500 g) of L. pterodonta were hydrodistilled for 3 hours and yielded 0.07±0.02 % (w/w) of essential oil. The oil was analyzed using GC and GC-MS. The analyses revealed the predominance of sesquiterpenoids (92.7 %), while monoterpenoids constituted 1.5 % of the oil. The major compounds in the oil were α-bergamotene (29.3 %), β-bisabolene (16.9 %), α-copaene (8.8 %) and α-bisabolol (6.0 %). Terpinen-4-ol (0.5 %) and α-terpineole (1.0 %) were the only monoterpenoids detected in the oil. The antioxidant activity of the oil was determined using 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The oil exhibited antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH radicals with IC50 of 6.05 μL/mL. The activity of the oil was higher than the activity of ascorbic acid with IC50 of 12.84 μl/ml used as standard. Therefore, the oil could serve as an alternative to synthetic drugs for the amelioration of oxidative stress.