Abstract

PHYTOCONSTITUENTS PROFILE OF THE ESSENTIAL OILS FROM CELERY (APIUM GRAVEOLENS L) PLANT CULTIVATED IN NIGERIA BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS.

Chukuka Achuenu*, Esther A. Adelakun*, E.C. Ngurukwem and D. J. Chuwang

ABSTRACT

In this study the identified biologically active phytoconstituents of essential oil from celery plant grown in Nigeria, have been profiled and presented. The essential oils in both the leaf and stalk of dry celery plant cultivated in Jos were extracted by hydrodistillation and maceration in distilled water respectively, and then followed by subsequent characterization of the recovered oil obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This results in the identification of various phytochemical components in the plant based on their NIST scores (86-98%). The phytochemical constituents identified from the leaf oil and stalk oil are phenol, toluene, butylated hydroxyl toluene, fatty acid derivatives, tetra substituted cyclohex-2-enone, 3-phenylpropanoic acids, 1-methyl-4-(prop-1-en-2yl) cyclohex-1,2-diol, benzofuran, and sedanolide. Both qualitative and quantitative profiles of the phytoconstituents are presented with structures and their corresponding percentage compositions. The obtained data suggest that the Nigerian grown celery plant could be considered a good source of very valuable nutraceuticals known for bioactive properties. The presence of these phytoconstituents among other secondary metabolites may be responsible for its antioxidant property and its medicinal applications. The presence of these compounds is consistent with previous studies. Further phytochemical and pharmacological evaluation of the locally cultivated celery are required in order to explore the medicinal potentials of the plant for applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Keywords: Nigerian grown Celery (Apium graveolens L) plants, Phytoconstituents, Essential oils, Phenolics and Fatty acids.