Satureja Species Research Articles

Satureja hortensis L. Methanolic Extract and Essential Oil Exhibit Antitumor Activity

Many members of the genus Satureja have aromatic and medicinal characteristics. Satureja hortensis L. (Lamiaceae) is an Iranian species of Satureja which is well known in Iranian traditional medicine as a remedy for various ailments. In this study, antitumor activity of the essential oil and methanolic extract of S. hortensis was investigated. For antitumor activity tests, a potato disc tumor inhibition method was exploited. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and methanolic extract was also studied by a broth microdilution method and MIC values were determined. The methanolic extract exhibited antitumor activity in a concentration dependent manner but the tumor inhibitory effect was significant (> 20 %) at 1 mg/ml and higher. The IC value of the extract was 1.8 mg/ml. The essential oil exhibited tumor growth inhibition (100 %) at dilutions of 0.001 and 0.0001 (v/v). These results demonstrated that S. hortensis has beneficial effects by inhibition of tumor growth on potato discs, which is likely due to its terpenes and phenolic compounds.

UV spectroscopy and chemometrics: A simple approach to herbal quality control

Recently, the application of multivariate analyses to spectroscopic and chromatographic data has been widely used in the quality control of herbal medicine [1]. In this sense, the work presented describes a simple technique developed using UV spectroscopy together with chemometric techniques of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) in herbal authentication. This model was successfully used to authenticate Thymus vulgaris and discriminate it from Thymus, Satureja, Origanum, Plectranthus and Eriocephalus species, all traded in the Egyptian market as different types of thyme [2]. The model was also applied to authenticate 25 samples of monofloral Yemeni Sidr honey; one of the most expensive honey types worldwide and extensively adulterated [3]. In the former case, the model was constructed using UV spectroscopic data from methanolic extracts of 30 samples of T. vulgaris. PCA and HCA discriminated 20 samples of different botanical origins while 12 samples of commercial thyme were segregated into thyme or non-thyme using SIMCA. In case of the Sidr honey study, HCA and PCA achieved segregation of the genuine Sidr samples from the lower priced local polyfloral and non-Sidr samples. The SIMCA model was used to identify genuine Sidr honey samples as well as detect admixture with lower priced polyfloral honey by detection limits > 10%.

Evaluating the Effect of Essential Oil Extraction Method from Satureja macrosiphonia on Its Biological Activities: Ohmic- and Microwave-Assisted Hydrodistillation

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two newly introduced extraction methods, ohmic-assisted hydrodistillation (OAHD) and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD), on the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of the Satureja macrosiphonia essential oil. The results were compared with conventional hydrodistillation (HD). The investigated essential oils were rich in monoterpenes, notably oxygenated monoterpenes, which were represented mainly by cis-sabinene hydrate, linalool, borneol and terpinen-4-ol. The antioxidant activity was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical-scavenging assay, and the IC50 values of 13.78, 11.08 and 14.17 mg/mL was obtained for HD, OAHD and MAHD essential oils, respectively. The essential oils were also investigated against gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterobacter aerogenes) bacteria. The antibacterial activity was generally weak. In contrast to other Satureja species, Sat. macrosiphonia that was examined in this study did not exert strong biological activities. Practical Applications Application of emerging thermal technologies such as ohmic and microwave heating has been introduced to essential oil extraction and presented some desirable advantages over the conventional methods, such as effective heating, fast energy transfer, time saving and low operating costs, and no adverse alterations in chemical compositions have been observed. In this study, ohmic- and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation were used to extract the essential oils of Satureja macrosiphonia. The results of this study showed that using the emerging technologies that are considered as green technologies gives rise to a selective extraction of some components compared with hydrodistillation. Not only no adverse effect on the biological activity of the essential oils was observed, but also more extraction of particular components may result to a higher activity.

Natural phytotoxic activity of water extracts and dried leaf powders of three Satureja species

Abstract Nowadays, agriculture techniques focus on sustainable agriculture production. In this respect, phytotoxicity offers an important tool for selective natural weed control. In the present work, two separated laboratory experiments were conducted in vitro to evaluate the allelopathic potentials of aqueous extracts (at seven concentrations: 0, 0.4, 1.5, 3.125, 6.25 and 12.5 g/L) and leaf powders (at seven concentrations: 0, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, and 960 mg/Petridish) of three Satureja species, namely: S. khuzestanica Jamzad , S. bachtiarica Bunge and S. rechingeri Jamzad. The allelopathic effects of the tested species on germination, growth and development of two horticultural crops (cress and tomato) and one weed (rye) were examined. According to the results, S. khuzestanica water extract at the concentration of 12.5% had the most suppressive effect on the rye seed germination while S. bachtiarica aqueous extract showed the maximum inhibitory effect on the germination and growth indices of tomato and cress seedlings at the concentration of 3.125% (v/v). The results concerning the inhibition effects of dried leaf powders of Satureja species indicated that S. rechingeri had the maximum inhibitory effect on germination percent and growth indices of rye, cress and tomato at 240, 120, and 60 mg/plate concentrations, respectively. Moreover, its dry leaf powder showed more inhibitory effect to these parameters than the aqueous extracts. The research findings suggest that aqueous extracts and dried leaf powders of the mentioned Satureja species have potent herbicidal activity, and could be used as natural herbicides for weed control in sustainable agriculture.

Metabolite profiling for caffeic acid oligomers in Satureja biflora

Satureja biflora, known as “lemon savory”, grows widely in Southern and Eastern parts of Africa. The plant has been used in Kenyan and Tanzanian traditional medicine as an antimicrobial, spasmolytic, diuretic, analgesic, and cicatrizing herb. Except for the composition of the essential oil no phytochemical data have been reported. Phytochemical profiling of the methanolic extract by a combination of chromatographic methods afforded nine phenolic compounds. Their structures were established by means of extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR, HRESI–MS, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). One new and eight known natural products were isolated and identified, namely luteolin 7-O-β-d-glucuronide (1), 2″-caffeoyl-luteolin 7-O-β-d-glucuronide (2) rosmarinic acid (3), melitric acid A (4), methyl melitric acid A (5), clinopodic acid I (6), clinopodic acid K (7), clinopodic acid O (8) and clinopodic acid P (9). Quantitative analysis of compounds showed that S. biflora is a rich source of caffeic acid oligomers. Such compounds were also found in other Satureja species, but at significantly lower concentrations.

Chemical composition and antifungal effects of three species of Satureja (S. hortensis, S. spicigera, and S. khuzistanica) essential oils on the main pathogens of strawberry fruit

Due to an increasing risk of chemical contamination upon the application of synthetic fungicides to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables, essential oils are gaining increasing attentions. In this research, besides chemical analysis of the essential oils of three Satureja species (S. hortensis, S. spicigera, and S. khuzistanica) by GC–MS, their fungicidal and/or fungistatic effects on postharvest pathogens of strawberry were investigated. Essential oils were extracted by means of hydro-distillation and afterwards GC/MS analysis was performed to identify their components. Carvacrol, γ-terpinene and p-cymene were detected as the repeating main constituents of the spices, while thymol and carvacrol methyl ether were found as major components only in S. ‎spicigera oil. In vitro results showed that at the maximum concentration, the essential oils did not possess fungicidal effects on Aspergillus niger but they exhibited fungicidal activities against Penicillium digitatum, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizopus stolonifer. However, S. khuzistanica was the strongest oil in fungicidal activity. S. hortensis oil was more effective than S. spicigera against B. cinerea whereas S. spicigera oil showed stronger fungicidal activity against R. stolonifer. In conclusion, essential oils isolated from three savory species could be suitable for applications in the food industry to control molds and improve the safety of fruits and vegetables.

Antioxidant Activity and Essential Oil Evaluation of Satureja hortensis L. (Lamiaceae) from Iran

Satureja hortensis L. (Lamiaceae) is one of the most important of twelve species of Iranian Satureja species cultivated in several areas of the country. As a medicinal plant, S. hortensis has been traditionally used as a stimulant, carminative and aphrodisiac. This study reports the essential oil composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil extract of aerial parts of Satureja hortensis L. GC-MS analysis identified twenty compounds representing 97.03 % of the oil. The main components comprising 70.72 % of the oil were γ-terpinene (31.47 %), borneol (5.73 %), carvacrol (26.78 %) and eugenol (6.78 %). The samples were screened for their antioxidant activities using 2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay methods. γ-Terpinene (11.21± 0.41 µg/ml) and eugenol (11.97± 0.07 µg/ml) showed appreciable antioxidant activity in DPPH test.

A Review of the Benefits of Satureja Species on Metabolic Syndrome and Their Possible Mechanisms of Action

Metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance disorder, is the simultaneous manifestation of multiple metabolic disorders in an individual. The present-day complementary and alternative therapies suggest several medicinal herbs that may have the potential to improve one or multiple complications of metabolic syndrome. All of them have their own limitations in efficacy and unwanted effects. Therefore, we reviewed species of Satureja as widespread medicinal herbs and potentially good remedies for metabolic syndrome. We reviewed literature found in PubMed and the ISI Web of Knowledge with the key word Satureja in the title. The influence of any species of Satureja on any disease or syndrome, enzymatic, metabolic, or physiological pathways, in human, animals, or in vitro conditions related to any characteristics of metabolic syndrome were considered. The main outcomes of treatment with Satureja species were categorized, and the possible mechanisms of action are discussed in this article.

Glycosidically Bound Volatile Compounds of <i>Satureja Montana</i> L., <i>S. cuneifo-lia</i> Ten., <i>S. subspicata</i> Vis. and Endemic <i>S. visianii</i> Šilic

In this paper, the glycoconjugated volatile compounds of four Croatian Satureja species (Satureja montana L., S. cuneifolia Ten., S. subspicata Vis. and endemic S. visianii Silic) were investigated. Content and composition of these compounds were examined depending on the stage of plant development. GC and GC–MS analysis of volatile aglycones revealed twenty-one compounds. Thymoquinone, geraniol and carvacrol were detected in all vegetative phases of the investigated plants. Other quantitatively important aglycones were eugenol and thymol of S. montana, phenyl ethyl alcohol, benzene acetaldehyde, borneol, α-terpineol, thymol and eugenol of S. cuneifolia, phenyl ethyl alcohol, benzene acet-aldehyde, terpinen-4-ol, α-terpineol and β-ionone of S. subspicata and camphor, thymol and 8a-acetoxylemolol of S. visianii. Moderate similarity in the chemical composition of essential oils and volatile aglycones of investigated plant species indicate that many biologically active compounds are glycosylated and accumulate as non-volatile glycosides.

Evaluation of Antioxidant, Antibacterial, and Antifungal Properties of Satureja hortensis Essential Oil

Background: Satureja is a genus belonging to the aromatic plants of Lamiaceae family. The genus Satureja L. (Lamiaceae) comprises more than 30 species of aromatic herbs and shrubs, widely distributed over the Mediterranean region. The genus is represented by 14 species in Iran of which, eight are endemic. Many species of the genus Satureja are reported to have aromatic and medicinal properties. The leaves, flowers, and stems of this plant are used as herbal tea and in treatment of various ailments in traditional medicine. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of essential oil (EO) of Satureja hortensis (Lamiaceae) that grows in Sabalan Mountain (Ardebil province, Iran). Materials and Methods: This EO was tested in vitro against two bacterial species by disk and agar well diffusion methods and against four bacterial species and three Candida strains by broth microdilution method. Total phenol, flavonoid, and free radical scavenging activity of EO were evaluated. Results: Total phenolic content was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (32.65 mg/g), which was presented as gallic acid equivalent in 1 g of sample. IC50 of EO and ascorbic acid in DPPH method were respectively 277.9 and 19.34 µg. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the EO of S. hortensis against Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus was respectively 2.5%, 2.5%, 5%, and 2.5%. The inhibition zone of EO in disk and agar well diffusion method showed that inhibitory zone on B. cereus was higher than that on S. typhimurium in both methods and B. cereus was more sensitive to EO. MIC to minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) ratio of S. hortensis EO against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida krusei in broth microdilution method were respectively 0.048%:0.048%, 0.024%:0.024%, and 0.012%:0.012%. Conclusions: The data of the study clearly indicated that the EO of S. hortensis has a strong antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activity.

Carvacrol ameliorates the PPAR-A and cytochrome P450 expression on D-galactosamine induced hepatotoxicity rats.

Carvacrol (2-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl)-phenol) is a predominant monoterpenic phenol which occurs in many essential oils of the family Labiatae including Origanum, Satureja, Thymbra, Thymus, and Corydothymus species. It is well known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antitumor activities. The present study investigates the influence of carvacrol on CYP2E1 and PPAR-α on D-Galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced hepatotoxic rats. The mRNA and protein expression levels of CYP2E1 and PPAR-α have been assayed by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot analysis. The result demonstrated that the mRNA and protein expressions of CYP2E1(p=0.012; p=0.015) significantly up-regulated while the mRNA and protein expressions of PPAR-α (p=0.026; p=0.03) significantly down-regulated on D-galactosamine induced hepatotoxic rats and treatment with carvacrol significantly suppressed the mRNA and protein (CYP2E1, p=0.010; p=0.011) (PPAR-α, p=0.033; p=0.037) expressions of these genes. Thus, the present results have shown that carvacrol has the hepatoprotective effect and also alleviates liver damage associated with GalN induced hepatotoxic rats by down-regulating the CYP2E1 and up-regulating the PPAR-α expression.

Summer Savory: From the Selection of Traditional Applications to the Novel Effect in Relief, Prevention, and Treatment of a Number of Serious Illnesses such as Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Cancer

Savory (Satureja L.) plant species have been used for centuries as culinary herbs and spices, as well as traditional remedies for the treatment or relief of various common health symptoms in many parts of the world. Recent studies suggest that the use of some Satureja species is effective in protecting the body against oxidative stress, free radical damage, inflammation, microbial infections, etc., A review of many studies suggests that savory species, in addition to treating minor ordinary ailments, can potentially provide a novel natural prevention or treatment for some chronic and serious illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and Alzheimer's.

Biological Activities of Origanum, Satureja, Thymbra and Thymus Species Grown in Turkey

In the present study, seven thyme species Origanum onites, O. vulgare var. hirtum, O. vulgare var. gracile, O. syriacum, Satureja hortensis, Thymbra spicata, and Thymus vulgaris were used. The essential oils of these plants were obtained by the hydrodistillation method. Antimicrobial activities of the essential oils against microorganisms, including multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria, were investigated using the disc diffusion method. All the essential oils used in this study were very effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, which included multiple resistant strains. All essential oils tested were especially very effective against Streptococcus pyogenes. The maximum antimicrobial activity was observed with the essential oils of S. hortensis. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils varied depending on the species. In fact, the essential oils of some thyme species showed different levels of antimicrobial activities. The antioxidant activity results show that the percentage of inhibition values ranged from 28.32 to 94.55 %. Among essential oils, O. vulgare var. gracile oil showed the lowest antioxidant capacity (28.32 %), while S. hortensis showed the highest one (94.55 %). Generally, the data suggest that different thyme species oil possesses useful antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and may be utilized in the food industry and as a dietary supplement.

Comparison of the Main Essential Oil Components of Different Species of Satureja from Iran: A Review

Comparison of the Main Essential Oil Components of Different Species of Satureja from Iran: A Review

Karyological study on four species of satureja (Lamiaceae) in Iran

Karyological study on four species of satureja (Lamiaceae) in Iran

Comparison of the Main Essential Oil Components of Different Species of Satureja from Iran

Comparison of the Main Essential Oil Components of Different Species of Satureja from Iran

Relationships among fourteen species ofSaturejagrowing wild in Iran detected with molecular markers

The genus Satureja is an important plant with a number of aromatic and medicinal properties. In this research, the relative efficiencies of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and selectively amplified microsatellite polymorphic loci (SAMPL) were used to detect genetic relationships among 14 species of Satureja, growing wild in Iran. Eleven AFLP and 14 SAMPL primer combinations produced 999 and 1142 scorable bands, respectively, all of the fragments of which were found to be polymorphic. The average genetic similarity values based on Jaccard's coefficient were 0.24 and 0.21 for AFLP and SAMPL, respectively, indicating considerable distance and diversity in the studied germplasm. The correlation coefficients were statistically significant between both marker systems (r = 0.89). UPGMA derived from the combined binary data matrices of both markers depicted genetic distinctions among the studied species and clustered them into two main clusters and several groups. S. edmondi showed the maximum distance from other species and was placed into a single main cluster, while the maximum similarity was obtained between S. rechingeri and S. khuzistanica. Our results indicate that both marker systems are suitable for differentiating individuals and species of this genus.

Effect of Different Growth Regulators on Callus Induction and Plant Regeneration of Satureja species

Aims: This work was for the first time; undertaken to study the effect of different explant types and plant growth regulators on the callus induction and plant regeneration in both Satureja species. This protocol can be successfully employed for the large-scale multiplication and conservation of threatened this medicinal plant. Study Design: The development and maintenance of callus lines from the hypocotyl and leaves of Satureja hortensis and Satureja avromanica and the study of plant growth regulators on plant regeneration. Micropropagation of these aromatic plants can play a role in the protection of the natural ecosystem, guarantee a massive sustainable production and can provide standardized plant materials for diverse economical purposes. Place and Duration of Study: Experiments were carried out at the Department of Biology at Razi University of Kermanshah (Iran) in January 2011. Methodology: The sterilized seeds were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium, and then the explants were cultured from seedling and transferred to a MS medium supplemented with different concentration of BAP, Kinetin, NAA and 2,4-D growth regulator hormones. Results: The highest percentage of callus formation frequency (96.67) in S. hortensis was Original Research Article Annual Research & Review in Biology, 4(16): 2646-2654, 2014 2647 obtained from hypocotyl explants grown on MS media supplemented with 1 mg L2,4-D and 2 mg LKIN whereas media supplemented with 0.5 mg L2,4-D, 0.5 mg LBAP and 0.5 mg LNAA was the best for callus formation of hypocotyls (66.67%) in S. avromanica. Calli derived from hypocotyl segments of S. hortensis showed significantly higher frequency of plantlet regeneration than the calli derived from leaf segments. However, hypocotyl segments of S. avromanica were more efficient in plantlet regeneration which produced 87.30% shoot regeneration at MS medium supplemented with 1 mg L BA and 1 mg L IBA. Conclusion: This protocol can be successfully employed for the large-scale multiplication and conservation of germplasm these plants.

Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil of Satureja macrosiphonia Bornm., from Iran

The essential oil compositions of Satureja macrosiphonia were characterized. The oils were isolated from aerial flowering parts of the plants by hydrodistillation and subjected to GC and GC-MS to determine the constituents. Forty two compounds corresponding to 99.9 % of the total oil were identified. Oxygenated monoterpens showed the highest percentage with 77.1 % of the total oil. Trans-sabinene hydrate (15.0 %), 4-terpineol (14.8 %), linalool (9.9 %), borneol (8.2 %), cis-sabinene hydrate (8.1 %) and carvacrol (5.7 %) were the major components. Antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated. The essential oil exhibited considerable antimicrobial activity on tested bacteria and fungi except for two resistant microbial strains, Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The most sensitive bacteria to the essential oil of this Satureja species were S. epidermis, B. pumulis and B. subtilis with IZ values of 30, 31 and 32 mm respectively and MIC values of .0.93 mg/ml for all of them. It is suggested that the essential oil of S. macrophonia has a great potential for antimicrobial properties.

A robust and cost-effective method for DNA isolation from Satureja species (Lamiaceae)

Aromatic species of the genus Satureja are rich in secondary metabolites that interfere with DNA isolation procedures. Four protocols based on the standard CTDNA extraction protocol of Doyle and Doyle (1987) were tested in six savory taxa. The polyphenol adsorbents activated charcoal and/or polyvinylpyrrolidone 10 were employed in three procedures (B, C and D); for the elimination of polysaccharides, 4M NaCl was applied in the latter two. The highest DNA yield was obtained with Protocol D and averaged 1420.7?398.3 ?g DNA/g of dry leaf tissue. Optimal values of the absorbance ratio 260/280 of all DNA solutions revealed the absence or only negligible contamination by proteins. Contamination by polysaccharides inferred from the absorbance ratio 260/230 showed that Protocol C provided the least contaminated material (average of 1.7?0.4). Enzymatic reactions of DNA solutions obtained by Protocol D showed amplification of both loci in all individuals. In conclusion, Protocol D is suitable for the isolation of high quantities of pure DNA from Satureja spp.