Chemical Profile of Leaf Essential Oil of Cinnamomum walaiwarense and Comparison of its Antioxidant and Hypoglycemic Activities with the Major Constituent Benzyl Benzoate

Abstract

Leaf essential oils of an unexplored wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum walaiwarense Kosterm. collected from seven different locations in the southern Western Ghats, India were characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS analyses. Benzyl benzoate was the principal constituent of the leaf essential oil present at a concentration from 65 to 89.8%. Another major constituent was phenylethyl benzoate. The results on antioxidant (ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging) and hypoglycemic (α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory) activities show that the leaf essential oils exhibited better activities than benzyl benzoate. The very least antioxidant and inhibitory activities of benzyl benzoate show that these activities of the leaf essential oils were due to the synergistic action of minor constituents. The rich content of benzyl benzoate in the leaf essential oil makes C. walaiwarense a potential natural source of this compound. As benzyl benzoate is an excellent scabicide and pediculicide, the essential oil may be further investigated for industrial and other medicinal applications.