Antioxidant Activity of the Essential Oil and its Major Terpenes of Satureja macrostema (Moc. and Sessé ex Benth.) Briq

• Published in: Pharmacognosy Magazine Vol. 13; no. Suppl 4; pp. S875 - S880
• Main Authors: Torres-Martínez, Rafael, García-Rodríguez, Yolanda Magdalena, Ríos-Chávez, Patricia, Saavedra-Molina, Alfredo, López-Meza, Joel Edmundo, Ochoa-Zarzosa, Alejandra, Garciglia, Rafael Salgado
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Original; volatile compounds; medicinal plant; Free radicals; nurite; hydrodistillation
• ISSN: 0973-1296; 0976-4062
• DOI: 10.4103/pm.pm_316_17

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant activity of (Moc. and Sessé ex Benth.) Briq. (Lamiaceae) essential oil, a Mexican medicinal plant known as nurite. Fresh aerial parts of plants cultivated in greenhouse for 3 months were subjected to hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus to obtain essential oil. Volatile compounds were identified by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry. Antioxidant effectiveness of essential oil and its major terpenes of was examined by three different radical scavenging methods: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). The concentrations tested were 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/mL. The major volatile compounds were caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, pulegone, menthone, and thymol. essential oil showed the highest free radical scavenging activity with DPPH and ABTS methods (53.10% and 92.12%, respectively) at 1 mg/mL and 98% with TAC method at 0.1 mg/mL. Thymol exerted the highest antioxidant capacity with 0.1 mg/mL, reaching 83.38%, 96.96%, and 98.57% by DPPH, ABTS, and TAC methods. Caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, pulegone, and menthone exhibited an antioxidant capacity <25% with the DPPH and ABTS methods; however, limonene showed a TAC of 85.41% with 0.01 mg/mL. The essential oil of and thymol showed a free radical scavenging activity close to that of the synthetic butylated hydroxytoluene. The major volatile compounds of essential oil of were caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, pulegone, menthone and thymolThe essential oil of showed a high free radical scavengingThymol exerted the highest antioxidant capacity by DPPH, ABTS and TAC methods. GC: Gas Chromatography; DPPH: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; ABTS: 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid; TAC: Total antioxidant capacity.