Paper Title
Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Volatile Oil of Euphorbia Graminea Jacq from Nigeria

Abstract
Hydro-distillation of the air dried and pulverized whole plant of Euphorbia graminea yielded colourless volatile oil which was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Isopropyl palmitate (45.81%), Oleic acid (14.09%), Palmitic acid (6.65%) and Trans-2-Pentenal (5.68%) were the major constituents in the oil. The volatile oil revealed good antimicrobial activity against ten tested strains of clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi. It was observed that the potency of the volatile oil increased with increase in concentration. High zones of inhibition were observed across all the micro-organisms tested at 100µg/ml. Antioxidant activity of the volatile oil tested using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay revealed a moderate activity (40%) at concentration of 1000 µg/ml. The present study confirms the traditional use of E. graminea in folk medicine for dermatological diseases and microbial infections. Keywords - Euphorbia Graminea, Volatile Oil, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Antioxidant Activities