Phytochemical composition of Salvia officinalis and Sideritis raeseri extracts originating from Albania

Abstract

This study aims to present the phytochemical composition of sage (Salvia officinalis) and mountain tea (Sideritis raeseri), two medicinal and aromatic plant species, belonging to the Lamiaceae family, widely distributed in the Albanian territory. The plants extracts were obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction and analyzed by spectrophotometric means for their antioxidant activity using the DPPH and ABTS radical screening assays, total phenolic and flavonoid content (TPC, TFC). The polyphenolic profile of the sample was characterized by Reversed-Phased High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). Both of plants extracts didn’t show significant differences in the antioxidant screening assays suggesting a similar antioxidant potential. The global characterization revealed that the sage extract contained a higher TPC with an average of 115.73 ± 3.80 mg GAE/g D.W. Meanwhile, the mountain tea extract prevailed in the TFC with an average of 11.60 ± 0.39 mg QE/g D.W. The chromatograms revealed a rich polyphenolic profile for the extracts, with S. raeseri having a higher number of detected peaks. In the present research work, both of the medicinal and aromatic plants collected in Albania showed remarkable antioxidant potential, total phenolic and flavonoid content. The rich polyphenolic profile unveiled from the RP-HPLC characterization encourage further research and application of these plants extracts for their nutritional and pharmaceutical properties.