Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Root Essential Oil of Nigerian Specie of Asparagus Flagellaris (Kunth) Baker

Asparagus flagellaris (Asparagaceae) ischolar_main have a variety of medicinal uses including treatment of syphilis, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases, with no report on its essential oil composition. This study investigated the quantitative and qualitative characterising of the chemical composition, evaluating the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of ischolar_main essential oil from A. flagellaris. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation method using Clevenger apparatus, the identification and characterisation were done by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Antimicrobial properties were assessed by broth dilution method and the antioxidant activity were evaluated by 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) method. A pale-yellow essential oil with characteristic aroma was obtained with a yield of 0.44 % (w/w). GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of nineteen (19) compounds representing 97.03 % of the total oil composition. The essential oil was predominated by 84.54 % thymol derivatives. The ischolar_main essential oil showed moderate inhibitory zone (18 – 10 mm) when compared with the reference standards Gentamicin and Tioconazole for both bacteria (40 – 35 mm) and fungi (28 mm) respectively. The ischolar_main essential oil can be classified as bacteriostatic on test organisms. The oil exhibited a distinct antioxidant activity due the synergy of the identified constituents and IC₅₀ values of scavenging abilities on DPPH radicals were Ascorbic acid (0.1734 mg/mL) > BHA (0.1954 mg/mL) > essential oil (0.3162 mg/mL). The ischolar_main essential oil of A. flagellaris contains important chemical compounds that are liable for its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.