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Greek oregano and common oregano were compared in respect of the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of the corresponding essential oils and hydroethanolic extracts in relation with their chemical profile. The chemical composition of essential oils was determined by GC-MS and GC-FID, while extracts (phenolic acids and flavonoids fractions) were analyzed by HPLC-DAD. Based on given volatiles, the investigated subspecies represented two chemotypes: a carvacrol/γ-terpinene/p-cymene type in the case of Greek oregano and a sabinyl/cymyl type rich in terpinen-4-ol in common oregano. Within non-volatile phenolic compounds, rosmarinic acid appeared to dominate in both subspecies. Lithospermic acid B, chlorogenic acid and isovitexin were present only in Greek oregano extracts. However, the total content of flavonoids was higher in common oregano extracts. The essential oil and extract of Greek oregano revealed visibly stronger antibacterial activity (expressed as MIC and MBC) than common oregano, whereas the antioxidant potential (determined by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP) of these extracts was almost equal for both subspecies. In the case of Origanum plants, the potential application of essential oils and extracts as antiseptic and antioxidant agents in the food industry should be preceded by subspecies identification followed by recognition of their chemotype concerning both terpene and phenolics composition.

The purpose of the study was to determine the differences between two subspecies: O. vulgare L. subsp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart (Greek oregano) and O. vulgare L. subsp. vulgare (common oregano) growing in cultivation conditions within temperate climate of Central Europe. The characteristic of the subspecies was undertaken in terms of selected morphological parameters and the quality of the raw material. The herb of both subspecies was evaluated on the content and composition of essential oil by hydrodistillation followed by GC-MS and GC-FID (gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and flame ionization detector), the total content of phenolic acids (according to PP 6th ed.) and the content of rosmarinic acid (by HPLC). The sensory evaluation (QDA) was performed, as well. Greek oregano was distinguished by visibly higher number of glandular trichomes on the leaves (up to 4.85 per 1 mm2) followed by higher content of essential oil in the herb (up to 3.36 g × 100 g−1 DW) in comparison to common oregano. Based on the essential oil composition, Greek oregano was classified as mixed carvacrol/γ-terpinene chemotype, while common oregano as mixed sabinyl/cymyl type rich in sesquiterpenes. Greek oregano was also characterized by higher total content of phenolic acids (up to 6.16 g × 100 g−1 DW) and rosmarinic acid (up to 6787.2 mg × 100 g−1 DW) than common oregano. Essential oil content reached the maximum at the beginning of blooming (common oregano) and at the full blooming stage (Greek oregano). In turn, the amount of phenolic acids followed by rosmarinic acid was the highest at the beginning of seed-setting stage, in the case of both subspecies. The differences between subspecies concerning chemical composition (especially essential oil) were reflected in the sensory attributes, where both odor and taste notes were found at higher level for Greek oregano. Results of our work indicate that Greek oregano is well adapted to grow in the temperate zone conditions. Such adaptation was reflected mainly in the satisfied yield and maintaining characters typical for the Mediterranean plant, e.g., a high essential oil content followed by high carvacrol share, traits the most important from practice viewpoint.

Roseroot (Rhodiola rosea L.) belongs to plants revealing adaptogenic properties, which are attributed to the presence of specific phenolic compounds and are reflected mainly as antioxidant activity. The aim of the present study was to determine the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of various products obtained from R. rosea (underground organs as well as their aqueous and ethanolic dry extracts) in relation to the chemical profiles of phenolic and essential oil compounds. The chemical profiles were determined by High-performance Liquid Chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), antioxidant activity by (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) Scavenging Capacity Assay (DPPH), (2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) Scavenging Capacity Assay (ABTS) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power Assay (FRAP) and antimicrobial properties were expressed as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bacterial concentration (MBC) values following the broth microdilutions method. The results show that the investigated samples differed in terms of their chemical compositions and biological activities. The extracts were more abundant in phenolic compounds (salidroside, tyrosol, and rosavin derivatives) in comparison to dried underground organs. The content of the determined phenolics in the analyzed extracts was affected by the solvent used for extraction. The ethanolic extract was characterized by the highest content of these substances in comparison to the aqueous one and the dried raw material, especially with regard to rosavin (969.71 mg/100 g). In parallel, this extract showed the strongest antioxidant and antibacterial activity. However, dried R. rosea underground organs also revealed strong antibacterial effects against, for example, Staphylococcus strains.

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