A novel type of antioxidant isolated from leaf wax of Eucalyptus leaves.

Abstract

As a search for natural antioxidants from plant materials, strong antioxidative activity was observed in leaf waxes extracted from Eucalyptus species. A novel type of antioxidant was isolated from the leaf wax of Eucalyptus globulus and identified as n-tritriacontan-16, 18-dione. Antioxidative activities were determined by different methods; a thiocyanate method, a thiobarbituric acid method, a total carbonyl value method and a weighing test. The antioxidant showed remarkable antioxidative activity in a water/alcohol system and was more effective than α-tocopherol and BHA; however, it has no antioxidative activity in an oil system.