Essential Oil Composition and Antioxidant activity of Fresh and Air-driedCynara Cardunculus L. Grown Wild in Jordan

The composition of the hydro-distilled oils of Cynara Cardunculus L. (fresh and air-dried) at the flowering stage was evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS).Additionally, the essential oils that were isolated from both fresh and air-dried Cynara Cardunculus L were analyzed by using DPPH free radical scavenging and ABTS .+cation radical scavenging to investigate the antioxidant activity.The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of fresh and dried essential oils identified 53 and 41 compounds, respectively.The main ingredient classes in the fresh aerial section were oxygenated sesquiterpenes with (37.21%) of the overall amount, followed by oxygenated monoterpenes (19.56%) and diterpenes (18.68%).On the other hand, diterpenes (28.27%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (23.44%) made up most of the dried aerial portion.The most prevalent component in the fresh plant was carissone (22.01%) which was followed by cubeban-11-ol (15.20%),(3Z)-cembreneA(10.11%), limonen10-ol (9.69%) andmaaliol(9.17%).The most prevalent components of the dried were (3Z)-cembrene A (18.22%), carissone (12.22%), and cubeban-11-ol (11.22%).The isolated essential oils of both fresh and dried C. cardunculus showed significant antioxidant activities, however, the dried plant's oil exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than the fresh one.