Aim:

This study investigated the bioactive metabolites and antioxidant activity of essential oils of two species of the genus Tagetes.

Method:

The essential oil was obtained by steam stripping, its extraction performance, relative density, refractive index and its solubility in ethanol (70 % v/v) were subsequently determined. The chemical composition was tested using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity was determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydracil (DPPH) free radical method and the ABTS*+ radical cation trapping capacity.

Results:

In the essential oils of the Tagetes species, it was found to identify 26 chemical components for the species Tagetes elliptica Sm. And 16 for Tagetes minuta L., both species presented monoterpenes (61 %) and sesquiterpenes (44 %) as main components. The bioactive metabolites of essential oils between both species of Tagetes were, (-trans-ocimeno (25.03 %), trans-tagetone (51.37 %), β-myrcene (2.78) and β-caryophyllene (1.17 %). The extraction yields ranged between 0.05 and 0.048 %, the density between 0.90 and 0.88 (g/ml) with a refractive index of 1.493 and 1.482 and a positive solubility (v/v) between both species. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil in both species showed a variation between 1.77 and 2.56 mg/mL for DPPH and 21.02 to 41.06 mg/mL for BTS*+.

Conclusion:

The essential oils of the species Tagetes elliptica Sm. and Tagetes minuta L. are a source of bioactive metabolites that promote antimicrobial and anti-oxidant potentialities for use as food preservatives.