Anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities of Savoury (Satureja thymbra L.) with identified major terpenes of the essential oil Mehmet Öztürk ⇑ Faculty of Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Mugla University, 48121 Mugla, Turkey article info Article history: Received 27 January 2011 Received in revised form 5 January 2012 Accepted 9 February 2012 Available online 18 February 2012 Keywords: Satureja thymbra Essential oil GC-MS c-Terpinene Antioxidant activity Anticholinesterase activity abstract Satureja thymbra was used as a spice in Anatolia and Greece. The essential oil and the methanol extract of Satureja thymbra were evaluated for cholinesterase inhibitory effects against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase which are the chief enzymes of Alzheimer’s disease. The antioxidative effects of the essential oil and the extract were also determined by using b-carotene-linoleic acid, DPPH  -scaveng- ing, ABTS + -scavenging, and CUPRAC assays. The GC and GC–MS analyses of the essential oil afforded twenty-five compounds. The identified main compounds of the essential oil, carvacrol (34.6%), c-terpin- ene (22.9%), p-cymene (13.0%) and thymol (12.8%) were also tested in the same manner. The experimen- tal findings indicated that the compounds, except p-cymene, were active in both activity tests. Moreover, the extract (IC 50 :13.1 ± 0.23 lg/ml), the oil (IC 50 :26.7 ± 0.56 lg/ml) and c-terpinene (IC 50 :11.9 ± 0.21 lg/ ml) exhibited a good lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity. In addition, the possible mechanism of lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of c-terpinene was also discussed. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The leaves of some plants, such as oregano, thyme and savoury, belonging to the Lamiaceae family, have been added to meat, fish and food products for many years. Satureja species have been widely used as folk medicines and locally known as sivri kekik (thyme or savoury) in Turkey. In general, Satureja species are widely grown in Mediterranean areas of the world. Satureja thym- bra, Satureja cuneifolia, Satureja wiedemanniana, Satureja spicigera, Satureja hortensis and Satureja cilicica have commercial importance due to their usage as spices. The essential oils of these Satureja spe- cies are also used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Therefore, Satureja, Thymus, Origanum and Coridothymus species are exported (8000 tons per year). The exportation quantity of Sat- ureja thymbra is 100 tons per a year (Satıl, Dirmenci, Tümen, & Turan, 2008). In Turkey, there are 15 Satureja species and five of them are en- demic (Tümen, Satil, Duman, & Bas ßer, 2000). Among them, the S. thymbra, S. spicigera, S.cuneifolia, S. boissieri, S. coerulea, S. pilosa, S. icarica, S. wiedemanniana, S. hortensis and S. cilicica are consumed as spices or herbal teas by the local people (Satıl et al., 2008; Baytop, 1999). Literature survey shows that Satureja species have antibacterial (Gören et al., 2004; Azaz, Kürkçüog ˘lu, Satıl, Bas ßer, & Tümen, 2005; Vagionas, Graikou, Ngassapa, Runyoro, & Chinou, 2007), antifungal (Müller-Riebau, Berger, & Yegen, 1995), antiviral (Loizzo et al., 2008), antinociceptive and analgesic (Karabay- Yavas ßog ˘lu, Baykan, Öztürk, Apaydın, & Tuglular, 2006) properties. Several studies on the essential oil of S. thymbra have been car- ried out. These studies indicated that the major compounds of the essential oil are carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene and c-terpinene (Gören et al., 2004; Chorianopoulos et al., 2004,2006; and Loizzo et al., 2008; Azaz et al., 2005). The fatty acid composition and the surface flavonoids of S. thymbra were also investigated (Gören, Bilsel, Altun, Satil, & Dirmenci, 2003; Skoula, Grayer, & Kite, 2005). Besides, the essential oil of S. thymbra indicates valuable lar- vicidal activity against Culex pipiens biotype molestus (Michaelakis, Theotokatos, Koliopoulos, & Chorianopoulos, 2007). It has signifi- cant antifungal and antibacterial activities (Gören et al., 2004; Chorianopoulos et al., 2006), and it also shows activity against food borne pathogens (Chorianopoulos et al., 2004). The antiviral activ- ity of the oil was also tested and meaningful results have been found against HSV-1 (Loizzo et al., 2008). The insecticidal and genotoxic activities of the essential oil of Greek and Turkish S. thymbra were reported (Michaelakis et al., 2007; Ayvaz, Sagdic, Karaborklu, & Öztürk, 2010). The phenolic constituents of S. thymbra, particularly their flavo- noids and flavonoid glycosides, may provide a potential source of antioxidants. Synthetic antioxidants, such as butylated hydroxyan- isole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and tert-butylhydro- quinone (TBHQ) have been widely used in the food industry to prevent oxidative deterioration. However, BHA and BHT are sus- pected of being responsible for liver damage and carcinogenesis (Grice, 1988). 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.02.054 ⇑ Tel.: +90 252 2113138; fax: +90 252 2111472. E-mail addresses: mehmetsadettin@yahoo.com, omehmet@mu.edu.tr Food Chemistry 134 (2012) 48–54 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem