The synthetic antioxidant Butylated Hydroxytoluene, a naturally occurring constituent of the broom C ytisus triflorus L'Hérit

BHT chemically named 2,6-Bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methylphenol is one of the synthetic antioxidant agents commonly used in processed Food, Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals. A naturally occurring BHT was determined for the first time in extracts of different aerial parts of the shrub Cytisus triflorus L’Herit., by GC/MS and RP-HPLC‐UV/Vis with gradient elution. BHT was extracted in this study by three methods. The different extracts were tested for the ir Radical-Scavenging activity assayed by the DPPH method. Both polar (hydroalcoolic extract) and non-polar (ethyl acetate-hexane and diethyl ether-hexane) extracts e xhibited moderate to high free scavenging activity; the strongest one was exhibite d respectively by the hydroalcoolic extracts of leaves 81,91% and the diethyl ether-hex ane volatile fraction of fruits 87,01%.The analysis of the volatile fractions carri ed out by GC/MS allowed us to resolve the BHT other constituents in the volatiles fractions and provides positive identification of the BHT with mass spectral data. The RP-HPLC data provides positive confirmation of BHT in the hydroalcoholic extracts from stems and leaves.