Abstract
The essential oil from Gaillardia pulchella Foug. flowers was obtained by hydrodistillation and its chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty-eight compounds representing 92.63% of the essential oil were identified, of which the most prominent were n-Hexadecanoic acid (26.90%), Phytol (7.58%) and Cyclopropaneoctanoic acid, 2-[[2-[(2-ethylcyclopropyl) methyl] cyclopropyl] methyl]-, methyl ester (6.73%). Meanwhile, antioxidant activity of the essential oil was tested. The essential oil showed certain antioxidant activity in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) with an EC50 of 70.95 μg/ml. This is the first report on the essential oil of this particular species. Its bioactivities warrant further studies.
