摘要Objective:To determine chemical constituents and antioxidant properties of essential oil from rhizome of the medicinal plant,Kaempferia galanga(K. galanga)Linn.(Zingiberaceae) in conventionally propagated(CP) andin vitro propagated(IVP) plants.Methods:In vitro(micro) propagation ofK. galanga was done by inoculating explants on toMurashige andSkoog agar medium, supplemented with suitable combinations of phytohormones; the regenerants were transferred to soil for further growth.Essential oil preparations of bothCP andIVP rhizomes grown in soil, obtained by the hydro-distillation method were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Antioxidant activities of essential oil samples were monitored. Results:Maximum numbers of regenerated shoots were found in the medium supplemented with1 mg/L benzyl adenine and0.5 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid.A total of6 compounds were identified from rhizomes fromCP andIVP plants that yielded96.9% and97.81% of the total oil contents, respectively.The major compound of rhizome oil identified fromCP andIVP rhizomes was ethyl p-methoxy cinnamate in quantities,82.01% and71.77%, respectively, without any compositional variation.Antioxidant properties of essential oil preparations were assessed by the2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assays.Moreover, antioxidant activities of rhizome-oil fromIVP plants were better than that ofCP oil samples.Conclusions:As IVP rhizomes had better oil yield, those could be used for a large scale commercial propagation for sustainable use of essential oil.The principal chemical in the essential oil, ethyl p-methoxy cinnamate could help apothecary, for several ailments.