Abstract

Distillation process of aromatic plants produces a considerable amount of solid residues, which are rich in secondary metabolites known as bioactive compounds. In this context, residues from hydrodistillation of selected aromatic plants such as Mentha piperita L., Cymbopogon citratus Stapf and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh, have been studied for their total polyphenol content using Folin-Ciocalteu Reagent (FCR) method, total flavonoid content using aluminium chlorid (AlCl₃) and antioxidant properties were determined as DPPH radical-scavenging ability (IC₅₀). The anti-termite activity was evaluated by a direct non-choice test. The higher antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ = 0.20 mg/ml) and polyphenols content (224.32 mg GAE/g of dried extract) were showed with E. camaldulensis aqueous extract. However, M. piperita and C. citratus ethanolic extracts showed higher flavonoid content (190.99 and 185.19 mg QE/g of dried extract). The most active extract against termite Reticulitermes flavipes was E. camaldulensis ethanolic extract presenting toxicity at 5% and 10% w/w as concentrations. All these data showed that strategic extraction of residues from hydrodistillation can provide interesting bioactive compounds as novel anti-termite agents in plants protection and allow to give an added-value to aromatic plants.

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