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In vitro antioxidant/free radical scavenging and antibacterial properties of endemic oregano and thyme extracts from Greece

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Abstract

The present investigation was to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of hexane and methanol extracts from Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum and Thymus vulgaris (Komotini, Greece). The methanol extracts of oregano and thyme against DPPH radical were more active than the hexane extracts (mean values 0.94 and 0.47, respectively) and oregano exhibited stronger activity than thyme (mean values 0.82 and 0.55, respectively). The results from the β-carotene/linoleic acid assay showed that all plant extracts inhibited linoleic acid oxidation up to 70.78±1.17%. The oregano extracts exhibited the strongest inhibition against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus using the disc diffusion assay. The chemical composition of the hexane and methanol extracts, by using GC-MS, showed that carvacrol, thymol, and p-cymene were the most prominent compounds. The methanol extract of oregano was found the most potent antioxidant with the highest content of total phenolics (138.92 mg GA/g extract) and carvacrol (76.7%).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Technology, Karacabey Vocational School, Karacabey, TR-16700, Bursa, Turkey

    Metin Guldas

  2. Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Technology and Nutrition, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, GR-57400, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Vasiliki Lagouri

  3. Department of Food Engineering, Agricultural Faculty, Uludag University, TR-16059, Bursa, Turkey

    Ozan Gurbuz

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  1. Vasiliki Lagouri
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  2. Metin Guldas
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  3. Ozan Gurbuz
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Correspondence to Metin Guldas.

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Lagouri, V., Guldas, M. & Gurbuz, O. In vitro antioxidant/free radical scavenging and antibacterial properties of endemic oregano and thyme extracts from Greece. Food Sci Biotechnol 20, 1487–1493 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-011-0206-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-011-0206-3

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