CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF CHROMOLAENA ODORATA HARVESTED IN THE REGION OF THE MOUNTAIN DISTRICT OF CÔTE D'IVOIRE.

Introduction: The aromatic plants have occupied an important place in the daily life of man. The excessive and repetitive use of drugs has led the body to develop resistance to their curative effects. Many authors have focused on the study of the therapeutic properties of essential oils in order to provide new remedies. They are used as a source of bioactive molecules of natural origin. Objective: The objective of this work is to contribute to the valorization of medicinal and aromatic plants of the Ivorian flora. We propose to determine the chemical composition and to evaluate the antioxidant activity by spectrophotometry of the essential oil. Materials and Methods: The plant material consists of the leafy twigs of C. odorata. The technical of steam distillation using a four-compartment stainless steel device was used to extract the essential oil from the plant matrix. The analysis of the essential oils was carried out on a GC chromatograph (7890A, Agilent Technologies) coupled to a mass spectrometer (5975C, Agilent Technologies). The antioxidant potential of the extracts was evaluated using the Blois method. Results:  The essential oil obtained by steaming, with an aromatic odor and pale green color has a yield of (0.082 ± 0.004) %. Analysis of the chromatogram and mass spectra identified 24 phytocompounds (99.92%). The phytochemical composition is dominated by hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes (44.21%) followed by hydrocarbon monoterpenes (29.48%) and other compounds (26.23%). The major compound are α-pinene (17.79%), 6-propen-1-enylbicyclo [3.1.0] and hexan-2-one (14.95%) . Conclusion: The essential oil extract of  C. odorata exhibits low antioxidant activity compared to vitamin C.