Quenching of singlet molecular oxygen by Commiphora myrrha extracts and menthofuran.

The quenching activity against singlet oxygen, an actor of lipid peroxidation and DNA degradation, of the essential oil and resinoid of Commiphora myrrha from Somalia has been studied and compared to DL-alpha-tocopherol using 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF) as a probe. To insure that the furan ring was the site of the reaction, experiments were conducted with menthofuran. The essential oil and menthofuran show a higher activity than DL-alpha-tocopherol, suggesting their potential usefulness to neutralise this deleterious form of molecular oxygen.