Determination of Antioxidant Properties and Composition of Rosemary and Thyme Essential Oils

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity and chemical composition of essential oils obtained from thyme and rosemary. In our study, the yield for thyme essential oil was determined as 1.34% and the yield for rosemary essential oil was determined as 0.40%. It has been determined that there are components such as carvacrol, gamma-terpinen, thymol, terpineol, alpha-pinene, borneol, linalol in thyme essential oil. The most important components of rosemary essential oil are components such as eucalyptol, camphor, carvacrol, endo-borneol, delta-3-karen, terpineol, bornyl-acetate, o-simene. In addition, the total phenol content, antioxidant activity (DPPH) and p-anisidine values of essential oils were determined. Total phenol contents and DPPH IC50 values were found to be 18.72±0.37 mg GAE/g DW and 4.74 µg extract/mL for thyme, whereas 12.11±0.29 mg GAE/g DW and 2.75 µg extract/mL for rosemary. Our study also showed good antioxidant activity of thyme and rosemary essential oils. As a result, these properties show that thyme and rosemary essential oils have a very strong potential applicability as antioxidant agents for the food and pharmaceutical industries.