ABSTRACT
Syzygium cumini is one of several species of the Myrtaceae family that are cultivated for their edible fruits. The phytochemistry of S. cumini is mainly focusing on composition of essential oil (EO) and phenolic compounds. EOs are aromatic oily liquids obtained mainly from plant material by steam distillation, expression, fermentation, enfleurage, or extraction by means of solvents, but steam distillation is the most common method for producing EOs on a commercial basis. EOs are dominated by volatile terpenoids, along with some aromatic compounds and nonterpenoidal hydrocarbons. The EO is generally obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the constituents are identified by comparison of their retention indexes (RIs) and mass spectra with published data. EOs and their constituents are reported to possess a wide range of interesting pharmacological activities. Various types of lignans have numerous pharmacological features, such as antitumor, hepatoprotective, platelet-activating factor (PAF), antagonistic, antifungal, antihypertensive, sedative, antioxidant, insecticidal, and estrogenic activities.
