Phytochemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activity of by-products of Salvia verbenaca L. growing wild in different habitats

The phenolic contents and corresponding antioxidant activities of post-distilled Salvia verbenaca growing wild in different habitats were evaluated. Total phenolic content varied 'from 55.03 mg GAE/g DW to 136.33 mg GAE/g DW. Rosmarinic acid (349.60-2560.37 mu g/g) was the dominant phenolic compound of all analyzed samples. The DPPH and ABTS scavenging powers and FRAP assay showed that post-distilled aerial parts collected in Sers, Touiref and Beja were the most potent radical-scavengers and reducing agents. Results revealed remarkable significant (p<0.05) variations in total and individual phenolic contents as well as in antioxidant activity across S. verbenaca different methanolic extracts. In addition, our study verified that the methanolic fraction had strong antioxidant activities which were significantly (p<0.05) correlated with several identified phenolics and total phenolic content. These results supported the significant potential to use S. verbenaca by-products as a source of natural antioxidants. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.