Composition of essential oil and antioxidant activity of Khat (Catha edulis Forsk), Ethiopia

Yohannes Mulugeta Hailu, Minaleshewa Atlabachew, Bhagwan Singh Chandravanshi and Mesfin Redi-Abshiro

Abstract

In this study, we determined the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the essential oils from two different varieties of khat (Catha edulis Forsk) cultivated in Ethiopia. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation using the Clevenger type apparatus, identifications of compounds were made by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Seventy seven different compounds were identified from essential oils of the two different khat cultivars. The essential oils in the samples from Bahir Dar and Wendo were composed of 50 and 34 compounds, respectively. The major compound identified in khat essentials oils include: limonene, 1-phenyl-1,2- propanedione, 1-hydroxy,1-phenyl-2-propanone, camphor, (sulfurous acid)-2- propylundecyl ester, hexadecane, O-mentha-1(7), 8-dien-3-ol, heptadecane, 10- methylnonadecane, (phthalic acid)-isobutyl octadecyl ester, and tritetracontane. The antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of the oils were assessed by means of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay. The scavenging activities of the oils were 23.5-23.6 µg AAE/kg of fresh khat sample.