Dai, JialiZhu, LiangYang, LiQiu, Jun2014-03-102014-03-102013-06-071611-2156http://hdl.handle.net/2003/3293310.17877/DE290R-7125The following study deals with the chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of essential oils of Wedelia prostrata and their main constituents in vitro. A total of 70 components representing 99.26 % of the total oil were identified. The main compounds in the oil were limonene (11.38 %) and α-pinene (10.74 %). Antioxidant assays (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, superoxide anion radical, and reducing power test) demonstrate moderate activities for the essential oil and its main components (limonene and α-pinene). The essential oil (1000 μg/disc) exhibited promising antimicrobial activity against 10 strains of test microorganisms as a diameter of zones of inhibition (20.8 to 22.2 mm) and MIC values (125 to 250 μg/ml). The activities of limonene and α-pinene were also determined as main components of the oil. α-Pinene showed higher antimicrobial activity than the essential oil with a diameter of zones of inhibition (20.7 to 22.3 mm) and MIC values (62.5 to 125 μg/ml). The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the essential oil may be attributed to the synergistic effects of its diverse major and minor components.enEXCLI Journal ; Vol. 12, 2013Wedelia prostratachemical compositionessential oilantioxidant activityanti- microbial activity610article (journal)