Abstract

Pulicaria undulata  (L.) C.A. Mey is a medicinal plant used to treat inflammation. It is also an insect repellent  and herbal tea. In this study, concentration of  macro minerals (that is, Ca, K and Mg) and micro minerals (major and trace elements) (that is, Fe, Cu, Na and Mn) and P, were estimated in Pulicaria undulata from the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Sample preparation using microwave digestion was used for mineralization of this plant. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) and UV-Visible spectrophotometry were used to quantify metal levels and Phosphorus, respectively. Essential oil  from aerial parts of P. undulata was obtained by hydrodistillation. The chemical constituents of essential oil of aerial parts were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS techniques. The main components identified in the oil were 4-Terpineole (20.12%), alpha terpinene (4.02%), gamma terpinene (7.00%), cis-sabinene hydrate (8.29%), Linalool (5.60%), 1S-cis-calamenene (13.37%) and Junipene (8.66%). In addition, antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method.

Key words: Macro and micro minerals, microwave digestion, Pulicaria undulata, antioxidant activity.