Antioxidant activities of rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) extract, blackseed (Nigella sativa L.) essential oil, carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and sesamol

Naciye Erkan; Guler Ayranci; Erol Ayranci

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.01.058

Antioxidant activities of rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) extract, blackseed (Nigella sativa L.) essential oil, carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and sesamol

Food Chem. 2008 Sep 1;110(1):76-82. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.01.058. Epub 2008 Feb 6.

Authors

Naciye Erkan¹, Guler Ayranci¹, Erol Ayranci²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Akdeniz University, 07058 Antalya, Turkey. Electronic address: eayranci@akdeniz.edu.tr.

PMID: 26050168
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.01.058

Abstract

Antioxidant activities of three pure compounds: carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and sesamol, as well as two plant extracts: rosemary extract and blackseed essential oil, were examined by applying DPPH and ABTS(+) radical-scavenging assays and the ferric thiocyanate test. All three test methods proved that rosemary extract had a higher antioxidant activity than blackseed essential oil. The order of antioxidant activity of pure compounds showed variations in different tests. This was attributed to structural factors of individual compounds. Phenolic contents of blackseed essential oil and rosemary extract were also determined. Rosemary extract was found to have a higher phenolic content than blackseed essential oil. This fact was utilised in explaining the higher antioxidant activity of rosemary extract.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Blackseed essential oil; Carnosic acid; Rosemary extract; Rosmarinic acid; Sesamol.