The potential use as food ingredients of 12 commercial seed species belonging to the Lamiaceae family constitutes the main goal of this research. For that, the oil yield, the lipid profile, tocopherol content, phenolic profile and antioxidant capacities were determined. Seeds from Satureja hortensis, S. montana, Lavandula angustifolia, L. latifolia and Origanum vulgare can be considered as important sources of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (50.5; 52.4; 52.1; 48.5 and 45.5 g/100 g, respectively), likewise for seed oils from Salvia lavandulifolia and Rosmarinus officinalis regarding ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (52.2 and 50.0 g/100 g, respectively). The total tocopherol concentration varied between 42.8 and 113.8 mg/100 g of oil. The highest antioxidant capacities corresponded to Thymbra capitata and Origanum vulgare seed oils, in which carvacrol was the major phenolic monoterpene quantified. The presence of cinnamoyl-apigenin derivatives and hydroxycoumarin-apigenin-derivatives in spike lavender is described for the first time. Most of these seeds can be considered as an important source of oil rich in bioactive components of interest for human nutrition.
Keywords: Lamiaceae seed oil; antioxidant capacity; fatty acid composition; phenolic compounds; tocopherol content.