Aqueous extracts of Origanum vulgare and Thymus spp. from Alentejo: Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant Screening

Abstract

Mediterranean diet, intangible cultural heritage of Humanity, is a fundamental pillar for sustainable development of populations. Alentejo is rich in indigenous aromatic plants in Montado cork oak forests, many of them used in traditional Medicine as well as food flavours in Mediterranean diet. Moreover, Medicinal, aromatic and flavouring plants (MAPs) and their extracts are rich in phenolic compounds and play an important role in prevention of pathologies related with oxidative stress, such as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and cancer diseases. For this study, three autochthonous flavouring herbs from Lamiaceae family, widely distributed throughout Iberian Peninsula and used in Mediterranean cuisine, have been selected: Origanum vulgare L., Thymus capitellatus Hoffmanns. & Linkand and Thymus mastichina L. Freeze-drying decoction water extracts were performed to evaluate their chemical composition and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory proprieties were evaluated by several mechanisms including DPPH radical, reducing power and β-carotene/linoleic acid methods, as well as the ability to inhibit catalase activity in hepatic homogenates and to inhibit lipoxygenase activity.