Chemical variability and antioxidant activities of spontaneous and cultivated Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils according to the geographical origin of their exploited organs

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study described the variation of the chemical composition of different organ essential oils from cultivated and spontaneous Rosmarinus officinalis collected from some regions of Southern Tunisia at the flowering and the vegetative phases. Antioxidant activities were evaluated using DPPH• radical-scavenging activity and reducing power. Essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. Twenty-nine compounds were identified representing from 88.7% to 99.3% of the total essential oils. Five chemotypes were assigned to different organ essential oils (camphor, camphor/borneol/α-terpineol/α-eudesmol, camphor/borneol/α-terpineol, camphor/borneol/bornyl acetate/α-eudesmol and camphor/borneol/α-terpineol/caryophyllene). Furthermore, the essential oils presented interesting antioxidant potential in DPPH• radical-scavenging (IC50 = 0.093–0.623 mg/ml) and Fe3+ reducing power (EC50 = 0.121–0.523 mg/ml) assays. Understanding the chemical composition of essential oils in relation to environmental factors and plant organs is a crucial quality criterion for their marketing and helps to maximize their potential application.