The phytochemical composition and the antioxidant activities of the essential oil, as well as methanol and hot water extracts of endemic Satureja subspicata Vis. growing in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), were described. β-Caryophyllene, cis-β-ocimene, and α-pinene, identified by GC/MS and GC-FID, were the dominant oil components. The major compound of both of extracts, identified by HPLC-DAD, was rosmarinic acid. The analyzed essential oil showed moderate antioxidant activity. In this first report on the extracts of S. subspicata growing in BiH, the obtained results showed a high content of rosmarinic acid, as well as considerable amount of total phenols and flavonoids. Compared to the hot water extract, the methanol extract exhibits higher antioxidant potential, measured by DPPH and FRAP assay (IC50 = 0.45 g/l and 1879.43 equiv. Fe2+ μm), while the hot water extract showed higher potential in inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation (51.7% and 61.5% for 1 and 10 g/l). A good antioxidant potential of the tested extracts indicates their potential use as antioxidants, particularly for lipid protection, and partly explains the justification of the use of this plant in traditional medicine of BiH.
Keywords: Satureja subspicata; Antioxidants; Biological activity; Essential oil; Phenol compounds.
© 2017 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.