Chemical and Biological Investigation on Volatile Constituents of Pentadesma butyracea Sabine (Clusiaceae) From Benin

The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of leaves, bark and roots of Pentadesma butyracea collected in Natitingou (Benin) were investigated by capillary GC and GC/MS. Twenty-eight components, representing 97–99% of oils, were identified. The samples were exclusively sesquiterpenic, dominated in all cases by β-caryophyllene (58.0– 75.0%) and α-humulene (10.1–14.2%); the leaf oil was characterized by a high content of α-copaene (14.2%). Finally, no significant antiradical activity (DPPH method) or inhibitory effect on the soybeen lipoxygenase activity could be observed.