Ikram Mohamed Eltayeb

The present paper represents an attempt to investigate the effect of the geographical location on the yield percent and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Cyperus rotundus. The  essential oils of the plant were collected in five different locations in Sudan, namely Dongola (northern Sudan); Darfour (western Sudan); Aljazeera and Khartoum (central Sudan) and Sinnar (eastern Sudan) and prepared by hydro -distillation technique. The percentage yields were found to be variable according to the growing location. The highest yield was found in the Dongola sample (1.2%) and the lowest in Khartoum and Aljazeera samples (0.5%). The antimicrobial activities of the prepared essential oils were also variable with regard to the sample tested .The highest antimicrobial activity was found in Khartoum oil sample followed by Darfour oil sample; Dongola oil sample; Aljazeera and Khartoum oil samples and finally Sinnar oil sample.

Acacia seyal is well known in the Sudanese traditional medicine for its therapeutic value. The pleasantly fragrant fumigate bath, locally known as Dokhan, mainly from the stem or stem wood of the plant is widely used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. The investigation and a composition of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the dry distillates (Dokhan) prepared by dry distillation method from the stem, stem wood and stem bark is the objective of the present study.  The results showed remarkable antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the dry distillates. The antioxidant activity assayed by using DPPH radical scavenging technique was found to be 94±0.01%, 95±0.03, 93±0.02 for the stem, its wood and bark respectively compared to Propylgallate, standard antioxidant agent 90±0.01. The disc diffusion procedure was used for antimicrobial activity assessment which revealed the highest activity in the stem wood dry distillate with inhibitory zone diameter ranging from 20 to 36 mm.