The in vitro antioxidative properties of the essential oils and methanol extracts of Satureja macrosiphonia Bornm

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the in vitro antioxidant activities of the essential oil and methanol extracts of Satureja macrosiphonia in pre-flowering and flowering stages. GC and GC-MS analyses of the essential oils resulted in the identification of 35 and 24 compounds, representing the 95.1% and 92.6% of the oils, respectively. Major constituents of the oil of the pre-flowering stage were terpinene-4-ol (20.8%) and α-terpineol (14.7%), while in the oil of the flowering stage α-terpineol (26.7%) and borneol (16.6%) were found to be the main components. The samples were subjected to screening for their possible antioxidant activity by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene-linoleic acid assay. In general, the polar subfraction of methanol extract in the flowering stage exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity in the DPPH test. In the β-carotene-linoleic acid test, the essential oil of the flowering stage had the highest antioxidant activities.