Essential Oil Composition, Antioxidant Activity, and Phenolic Content of Melampyrum Arvense L. Var. Arvense L.

In this study, the essential oil composition, antioxidant activity, and phenolic content of Melampyrum arvense L. var. arvense L. were investigated.The aerial part of M. arvense was hydrodistilled, and a light yellowish oil yield of 0.9% (v/w) was obtained. Essential oil composition analysed with GC-MS. Methanolic extracts were prepared from whole parts of M. arvense var. arvense to determine the antioxidant activity and phenolic content was detected with LC-MS/MS. According to GC/MS analysis, 70 compounds were identified in the oil of M. arvense var arvense. The major compounds in M. arvense var. arvense were n-hexadecanoic acid-palmitic (17.73%), phenol, 2,4-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl) (15.56%), and octadecanoic acid-stearic acid (9.96%). Total phenolic and flavonoid content, DPPH•, and ABTS•+ scavenging activities were 33.5±2.6 mg GAE/g dw, 76.5±1.1 mg QE/g dw, 21.5±2.7 mg Trolox/g dw, and 30.7±0.45 mg Trolox/g dw, respectively. The most prevalent phenolic compound was 4-OH-benzoic acid. As a result of this study, high levels of fatty acids were detected in M. arvense var. arvense essential oil, which has not been reported in the previous literature.