The essential oil of Jatropha pelargoniifolia roots, obtained by hydrodistillation, was characterized in terms of its chemical composition by GC-FID. The analysis revealed the presence of 80 compounds, representing 99.99% of the total oil, with 77.31% of sesquiterpenes, 14.62% fatty acids, 7.21% of other components (i.e. phenolics hydrocarbons/ cyclic) and 0.85% of monoterpenes. The major compounds of the oil were γ-eudesmol (35.31%), 5-guaien-11-ol (14.43%), epi-cedrol (8.19%), oleic acid (5.23%), bulnesol (4.45%), α-linoleic acid (4.20%), 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid (3.83%), palmitic acid (2.69%), isolongifolanone (2.68%), eicosane (1.41%) and cedrol (1.14%). Oxygenated sesquiterpenes was found to be the major group and represents more than half percentage of the oil content. It consists almost entirely of γ-eudesmol (35.31%), 5-guaien-11-ol (14.43%) and epi-cedrol (8.19%).
Moreover, the essential oil was evaluated for its potency as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antipyretic and antinociceptive agents by using in vivo and in vitro models. The anti-inflammatory activity was screened by using the carrageenan-induced paw edema and cotton pellet granuloma effect in rats. The yeast-induced hyperthermia in mice method was used for evaluation of its antipyretic potency. Antinociceptive effect was assessed via hot plate method, acetic acid-induced writhing and tail flick in mice methods. Additionally, the antioxidant potential for the oil was evaluated using various in vitro antioxidant tests, including DPPH•, ABTS•+ and FRAP. Finally, results for essential oil biological investigations were satisfactory , especially at dose 240 µl/kg, for the anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and antinociceptiv activities and showed significant (p<0.001) effect compared with standard drug. As well, the antioxidant activity for root oil was superior to ascorbic acid. These findings demonstrated that the investigated essential oil of Jatropha pelargoniifolia root could be used as a natural source for their anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antipyretic and antioxidant effects.