Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of two Satureja species from Mt. Biokovo

Hydrodistilled volatile oils, as well as the extracts from waste water after hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Satureja montana and Satureja cuneifolia, growing wild at Mt. Biokovo (Croatia), were analyzed by GC-MS. Sixty compounds were identified in four samples. The major constituents of essential oil obtained from the plant material of S. montana were carvacrol (63.4%) and thymol (19.4%), while thymoquinone (38.7%) was the major component of extracts from waste water after hydrodistillation. The most abundant compounds in essential oil of S. cuneifolia were carvacrol (17.7%) and spathulenol (13.2%), respectively. The extract from waste water after hydrodistillation of this plant species was rich in (E)-coniferyl alcohol (18.1%). Antioxidant activity was tested using two spectrophotometric methods. Isolated extracts revealed activity in reducing stable radical and transition metals, comparable to thymol, carvacrol, and thymoquinone, which were used as positive probes.