Pharmacological activities and chemical composition of the Olea europaea L. leaf essential oils from Tunisia

Author: Ehsen Haloui ¹, Zohra Marzouk ^1*, Belsem Marzouk ², Ibtissem Bouftira ³, Abderrahman Bouraoui ⁴ and Nadia Fenina ¹

Received 27 January 2010, accepted 12 April 2010.

Abstract

Leaves of Olea europaea L. (Oleacea) are used in Tunisian folk medicine to treat many inflammation type and bacterial infections such as icterus, otitis, gingivitis and cough.The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition and to screen the DPPH radical-scavenging activity and the anti-inflammatory and the analgesic activities of the essential oil of Olea europaea L. leaves (EOL). GC and GC-MS analysis of the essential oil resulted in the identification of 32 compounds representing 99.44% of the oil; α-pinene (52.70%) 2,6-dimethyloctane (16.57%) and 2-methoxy-3-isopropylpyrazine (6.01%) were the main components. The result of the (DPPH) assay showed that the radical-scavenging activity was concentration dependent. Intraperitoneal administration of Olea europaea L. essential oil at doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg reduced significantly acetic acid- induced abdominal constrictions and paw edema. These results confirmed the great potential of olive leaves and validate their use in traditional medicine in Tunisia.

Key words: Olea europaea L., cv. Chemlali, essential oil, chemical composition, radical-scavenging activity, anti-inflammatory activity, analgesic activity, paw edema.