ROSMARINIC ACID LEVELS, PHENOLIC CONTENTS, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF THE EXTRACTS FROM SALVIA VERBENACA L. OBTAINED WITH DIFFERENT SOLVENTS AND PROCEDURES MILICA KOSTIC ´ 1 , BOJAN ZLATKOVIC ´ 2 , BOJANA MILADINOVIC ´ 1 , SLAVOLJUB ŽIVANOVIC ´ 1 , TATJANA MIHAJILOV-KRSTEV 2 , DRAGANA PAVLOVIC ´ 1 and DUŠANKA KITIC ´ 1,3 1 Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Bul. dr Zorana Ðind ¯ic ´ a 81, 18000 Niš, Serbia 2 Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +381-18-42-26-712; FAX: +381-18-42-38-770; EMAIL: duska@medfak.ni.ac.rs, kitic@msu.edu Received for Publication August 28, 2013 Accepted for Publication December 19, 2014 doi:10.1111/jfbc.12121 ABSTRACT The present paper investigated the quantities of total polyphenols, tannins, flavo- noids, hydroxycinnamic derivatives, rosmarinic acid and thujone, as well as the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in 12 Salvia verbenaca L. extracts. The sample, prepared with 80% methanol using ultrasound extraction (UE) contained the highest levels of total polyphenols (236.44 ± 12.80 mg catechin equivalents (CE)/g, 190.27 ± 9.89 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g), tannins (187.81 ± 12.93 mg CE/g, 148.95 ± 10.00 mg GAE/g) and hydroxycinnamic derivatives (13.52 ± 0.24%), and was superior in the antimicrobial activity test. The highest amount of total flavonoids (10.55 ± 0.44 μg of rutin/mg) was quanti- fied in the ethanolic extract prepared using UE. The extract made with 80% ethanol using UE had the highest rosmarinic acid level (94.00 ± 1.58 μg/mg) and was the most active in the β-carotene/linoleic acid system. The 80% methanolic extract made by maceration was the most active in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. Thujone was absent from all extracts. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The use of plants and products derived from plants has increased in the food industry in the past decade because of the comforts and advantages they provide when used as natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. The genus Salvia L. has been proven to be a relevant source of powerful natural antioxidant agents and preservatives used in food and medical products for centuries. The results indicate that Salvia verbenaca extracts are rich in polyphenolics, particularly in rosmarinic acid. The alcoholic extracts exerted significant levels of antioxidant and antimicro- bial activities; therefore, the extracts of S. verbenaca could be potential sources of natural antimicrobial agents for food preservation. In addition, thujone, a neuro- toxic monoterpene commonly present in Salvia species, was absent from all samples, which would allow extracts to be orally applicable. As an outcome of the proposed beneficial effects, S. verbenaca extracts could be used in functional foods and dietary supplements. INTRODUCTION The recent increase in natural antioxidants and antimicro- bial compounds usage has raised the awareness of aromatic plants and the benefits that they can provide to food safety and technology, if used as spices, essential oils or extracts. Among the natural sources of food spoilage preventers, Salvia officinalis L. is reputed to have remarkable antimicro- bial properties and comparable effects with synthetic pre- servatives. The genus Salvia L. has been proven as an important source of powerful natural antioxidants and preservatives used in food and health care products for Journal of Food Biochemistry ISSN 1745-4514 1 Journal of Food Biochemistry •• (2015) ••–•• © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.