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

Stanisavljevi D1, Stojievi S2, Karabegovi I2, orevi S3, Velikovi D1, Lazi M2
1
College of Agriculture and Food Technology,1 irila i Metodija St., 18400 Prokuplje, Serbia
2
Faculty of Technology, 124 Bulevar oslobodjenja St., 16000 Leskovac, Serbia
3
Institute for Medicinal Plant Research "Dr Josif Pani", 1 Tadeua Kouka 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 +4C 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=0,690,14 l/ml),
while the lowest activity was determined for Hyssopus officinalis L. oil (EC50=47,5011,62 l/ml). Compared
with vitamin C (EC50=0,040,05 g/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.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia
projects OI 172047.
References:
1. PDR for Herbal Medicines, 3rd Ed. 2004, Thomson PDR at Montvale.
2. Choi, C.W. et al. (2002) Plant Sci 163 (6): 1161-1168.
3. Benzie, I.F.F. et al. (1996) Anal Biochem 239:70-76.