Sanja Ćavar

Compositional Studies: Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Activities of Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew

Capparis decidua is one of the traditional remedies used for various medicinal treatments in Pakistan. This study presents the determination of proximate composition, amino acids, fatty acids, tocopherols, sterols, glucosinolate and phenolic content in extracts obtained from different aerial parts of C. decidua, as well as their antidiabetic and antioxidant activity. All examined extracts were prominently rich in phenolics and glucosinates, and they showed potent antidiabetic and antihemolytic activity. The present study could be helpful in developing medicinal preparations for the treatment of diabetes and related symptoms.

Strigolactones: occurrence, structure, and biological activity in the rhizosphere

Strigolactones are signaling molecules that play a role in host recognition by parasitic plants of the Striga, Orobanche and Phelipanche genera which are among the most detrimental weeds in agriculture. The same class of molecules is also involved in the establishment of the symbiosis of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In addition, strigolactones are being shown to be involved in an increasing number of physiological processes in plants, such as the regulation of plant architecture and the response to abiotic factors such as nutrient availability and light. Important advances in knowledge about the structure determination, occurrence, biological function and physiological and biochemical regulation of the strigolactones have been revised. This review presents the complete collection of available spectroscopic data of correct structures of strigolactones, the occurrence in plant kingdom, as well as germination and hyphal branching activities, that are of high importance to the scientific community that is investigating these novel plant hormones. Moreover, two new structures of strigolactone members are proposed.

Influence of the Continental Climatic Conditions on the Essential‐Oil Composition of Salvia brachyodonVandas Transferred from Adriatic Coast

Essential‐oil profile of Salvia brachyodon Vandas, an endemic Dinaric species transferred from Adriatic Coast to the continental climatic conditions, was determined. Hydrodistilled oils obtained from the plant material collected in three‐year field trial were subjected to the detailed GC/MS analysis. Hundred and fifty volatile compounds were identified in four samples. Comparison of the chemical composition of the isolated essential oils showed that population collected one year after transfer preserved sesquiterpene character of its oil (74.3%), while all subsequent samples gave the oils of monoterpene type with 1,8‐cineole as the principal constituent (22.2–42.3%). The high degree of variation in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the volatile constituents revealed the strong influence of environmental conditions on the nature of plant chemical composition that has an important role in a plant adaptation.

Chemical composition of the essential oil of Stachys menthifolia Vis.

Stachys menthifolia Vis. (Lamiaceae) is an endemic species from the Balkan Peninsula spread throughout Albania, Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia. This article presents the first investigation of the essential oil composition of this species from Croatia. Aerial parts of the plant were collected from three different natural habitats in the region of Biokovo Mountain. The studied populations showed similarity in qualitative, but not in quantitative, composition of their essential oils. Hydrodistilled volatile oil obtained from the plant material of S. menthifolia was subjected to gas chromatographic analysis coupled to mass spectrometry. More than 100 compounds were identified in the three samples, representing 86.8–90.8% of the total oil. The terpene profile of S. menthifolia is characterized by a high content of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (48.4–58.9%) and diterpene hydrocarbons (3.5–25.2%), with 8-α-acetoxyelemol (6.9–21.3%), abietatriene (3.5–21.1%), and 4′-methoxyacetophenone (4.5–17.0%) as the main constituents.

Comparison of Essential Oil Prof iles of Satureja montana L. and Endemic Satureja visianii Šilic

Abstract Satureja is a genus of the well-known medicinal plants of Lamiaceae family that comprises numerous species growing wild in the Mediterranean area. The essential oils of Satureja visianii Šilic and Satureja montana L., growing together at the same habitat under similar environmental conditions, were subjected to detailed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis in order to compare their chemical composition. S. visianii Šilic is a stenoendemic species with narrow geographical distribution limited to only one locality, Pelješac Peninsula in Croatia. More than one hundred twenty compounds were identified in both plant oils representing 90.4 % - 99.5 % of the total oil. The most abundant components in S. visianii essential oil were viridiflorol (17.9 %), borneol (12.6 %) and camphor (6.5 %), while S. montana oil was rich in phenolic compounds carvacrol (59.1 %) and thymol (20.1 %).

Volatile constituents, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity of Calamintha glandulosa (Req.) Bentham.

BACKGROUND Calamintha glandulosa (Req.) Bentham is an aromatic perennial plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae, mostly found on rocky pastures, dry meadows, and abandoned places of the Mediterranean area. Plants belonging to this genus are known as highly aromatic and to possess significant antimicrobial and antifungal properties. The aim of this study was to provide clear picture of the volatiles of this plant species, and, for the first time, to present C. glandulosa from Croatia in terms of its antioxidant activity. RESULTS The essential oil and headspace obtained from odorous parts of C. glandulosa were subjected to capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. More than 50 volatile compounds were identified in six samples obtained using different extraction techniques. The most abundant components in all the samples examined were oxygenated monoterpenes, with piperitone (19.9-59.5%) and piperitenone (7.1-42.6%) as the main representatives. The total phenolic content of extracts obtained by successive Soxhlet extraction was measured, and the scavenging potency of the samples, indicated as IC50 values, were examined using four different spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods. In all cases the essential oil showed the lowest antioxidant activity, while the aqueous extract showed the highest. This can be explained by the levels of the phenolic compounds in the samples examined. CONCLUSIONS A clear picture of aroma profile of C. glandulosa is presented, and the results obtained differ from those published previously. The high antioxidant potential of C. glandulosa from Croatia was established for the first time. Results from the present study suggest further analysis on this plant species in order to define its medicinal properties.

Chemical composition and antioxidant potential of Acacia leucophloea Roxb.

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the compositional and nutritional potential of methanolic extracts of various parts of Acacia leucophloea Roxb. concerning the chemical composition and antioxidant potential of which limited information is available. Compositional studies indicated carbohydrates as major components in both seed and pods. Despite differences in mineral content among the leaves, pods and seeds, calcium was found in the highest amount and zinc in the lowest. The amino acid profile indicated aspartic acid as the major amino acid and proline as the minor. Among protein fractions, globulin was present in higher amounts than other fractions. Linoleic acid was the major fatty acid detected in the oil from both pods and seeds, while g-tocopherol was the major component of the tocopherol observed from same oil. Moreover, significant antioxidant potential was observed from the extracts of all three parts investigated. The results obtained in this study clearly indicate that A. leucophloea has a sufficient potential for use as a natural antioxidant agent. Further phytochemical studies will be performed for specification of the biologically active principles.

Biological Activity and Essential Oil Analysis of Endemic Centaurea gloriosa var. multiflora Radic

Abstract Centaurea gloriosa var. multiflora Radic (Asteraceae) is a Mediterranean plant species, endemic to the Biokovo Mountain (Croatia). This work presents the very first report on phytochemical studies of essential oil and different plant extracts of this endemic species. The volatile profile of odorous parts of the plant was analyzed by GC-MS, and n-hexane, ethanol and aqueous extracts have been examined for the content of total phenolic and antioxidant activity. The amount of total phenolic content was higher in aqueous extract than in n-hexane extract, and ethanol extract, respectively. As expected, extracts with a higher total phenolic content have more prominent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. In adddition, essential oil and waste water after hydrodistillation were subjected to an antimicrobial assay and showed certain antimicrobial activity.

Analysis of Volatile Compounds of Origanum vulgare L. Growing Wild in Kosovo

The chemical composition of the essential oil of wild Origanum vulgare L. was analyzed. Twelve samples of this plant species were collected from different locations in Kosovo. Essential oil of the Origanum vulgare L. was extracted by water distillation method and it was further analyzed by gas chromato- graphy-mass spectrometry. The yields of essential oil varied from 0.41 to 0.82 % of dried weight. Main identified compounds were sesquiterpenes (6.1 to 37.06 %), monoterpenes (1.73 to 35.18 %), oxygenated monoterpenes (6.88 to 36.06 %), and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (2.49 to 43.44 %) with main sabinene (1.81-12.34 %), 1,8-cineole (1.31-13.54 %), caryophyllene oxide (0.18-38.05 %), (E)-β-caryophyllene (0.48-14.0%), p-cymene (1.27-19.62 %), α-terpineol (1.05-19.23 %), and germacrene D (0.35-16.09 %) as the main constituents. The chemical profile of O. vulgare L. growing wild in Kosovo analyzed in our study resulted with a quantitative variation of the constituents.