Planta Med 2011; 77 - PE34
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282365

Antioxidant activity of the essential oils of five species of the family Lamiaceae

D Stanisavljevic 1, S Stojicevic 2, I Karabegovic 2, D Velickovic 1, S Djordjevic 3, M Lazic 2
  • 1College of Agriculture and Food Technology,1 Ćirila i Metodija St., 18400 Prokuplje, Serbia
  • 2Faculty of Technology, 124 Bulevar oslobodjenja St., 16000 Leskovac, Serbia
  • 3Institute for Medicinal Plant Research „Dr Josif Pančic“, 1 Tadeuša Košcuška St., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Species in the family Lamiaceae are praised medicinal and aromatic plants. They are used against various inflammations, stomach problems, as expectorant, as well as spices [1]. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of essential oils from wild growing herbs in South and South-East in Serbia: Hyssopus officinalis L., Origanum vulgare L., Satureja kitaibelii Wierzb. ap. Heuff., Nepeta nuda L., and Thymus serpyllum L. The essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The resulting essential oil was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and stored at +4°C in a well-filled, airtight container, protected from light, until the analysis.

Two antioxidant assays, scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) [2] and FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) assay [3] were used to evaluate vitamin C antioxidant activities, were used as standard.

Essential oil from Thymus serpyllum L. exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (EC50=0,69±0,14µl/ml), while the lowest activity was determined for Hyssopus officinalis L. oil (EC50=47,50±11,62µl/ml). Compared with vitamin C (EC50=0,04±0,05µg/ml) all essential oils were of lower DPPH antioxidant activity. In the FRAP assay, the reducing power decreased in the following order: Thymus serpyllum L.>L-ascorbic acid>Origanum vulgare L.>Satureja kitaibelii L.>Nepeta nuda L.>Hyssopus officinalis L. Our results confirm that the traditional use of medicinal and aromatic plants in mitigating oxidative stress is an initiator of many diseases.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia projects OI 172047.

References: 1. Anon. (2004) PDR for Herbal Medicines, 3rd Ed., Thomson PDR at Montvale, USA.

2. Choi CW et al. (2002) Plant Sci 163 (6): 1161–1168.

3. Benzie IFF et al. (1996) Anal Biochem 239: 70–76.