PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF SATUREJA KITAIBELII WIERZB. EX HEUFF. EXTRACTS BY GC/MS AND TLC

The Balkan endemic species Satureja kitaibelii Wierzb. ex Heuff. is known in the folk medicine as herbal remedy, spice and natural food preservative. It has many biological properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, etc. The purpose of this study was the GC/MS and TLC analyses of Satureja kitaibelii extracts of Bulgarian origin. Th plant surface exudate, the methanolic extract and a fraction prepared by alkaline hydrolysis were obtained the aerial parts. Phenolic acids, flavonoid aglycones (methyl derivatives of flavones), triterpene acids, terpenoids and fatty acids were identified in the plant surface exudate. Carvacrol, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were determined as main compounds in the plant surface exudate. Phenolic acids as quinic and rosmarinic acids, and carvacrol and palmitic acid prevailed in the methanolic extract. The most prevalent methanol insoluble phenolic acids further extracted with ethyl acetate after alkaline hydrolysis were caffeic and 4-hydroxycinnamic acids, followed by ferulic, syringic, 4-hydroxybenzoic and 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acids. The investigated S. kitaibelii extracts showed a high content of important biologically active substances.