Chemical composition of essential oil from Folium nelumbinis and its antioxidant activity

This study is aim to determine the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil from lotus leaves. The different methods and solvents were selected to extract oils from lotus leaves. About 38 components were found by GC-MS analysis, representing as 12, 15-octadecatrienoic acid (34.99%), linoleic acid and hexadecanoic acid. TBARS value, AV value and IV value reflected the various physicochemical indexes and lipid properties of Folium nelumbinis oil. Furthermore, antioxidant activities of the leaf samples were examined by FRAP and DPPH assays. In all systems, twice methanol-decolorized and ultrasonic-assisted essential oil using hexane solvent exhibited a higher potential activitythan than that of other extracts (ethanol, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether). These results provide a clear picture of the essential oils of Folium nelumbinis and demonstrate that the lotus leaves oil has an huge potential as a kind of chemical additive for the food industry owing to the strong antioxidant capacity.