Sideritis

Abstract: Essential oils and extracts of aromatic herbs obtained by organic solvents have been extensively studied for their antioxidant activity in lipid substrates. Very little is known about the possible presence of antioxidants in polar extracts from herbs used in preparation of infusions and decoctions. In this work water extracts of six different herbs of the Lamiaceae family (dittany, lemon balm, mint, sage, sideritis and sweet marjoram) were prepared. The extracts were examined for their effect against lipid oxidation in comparison to a tea water extract. Sweet marjoram, sage and dittany extracts were found to have a remarkable capacity in retarding lipid oxidation. Examination by thin-layer chromatography of the freeze-dried extracts, before and after hydrolysis, showed that the extracts were rich in bound forms of phenolic compounds such as hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids. Rosmarinic and caffeic acids were detected in all extracts with the exception of those from mint and sideritis. These results indicate that certain plants used for the preparation of infusions could be further studied like tea as sources of antioxidants.

Abstract: In this study; 23 selected plant species belonging to the Lamiaceae family, used in traditional treatments, were collected from different localities of Mugla, dried and extracted with ethanol using the soxhlet extraction apparatus. The antimicrobial activities of the plant extracts on the various test microorganisms, including multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria, were investigated. Antimicrobial activities of the extracts were determined by the disc diffusion method. Test microorganisms were; 7 Gram positive, 7 Gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans. Also different standart antibiotic discs were used for comparison for the inhibition zones. The antimicrobial activities of the ethanolic extracts of Salvia verbenaca, Teucrium chamaedrys ssp. lydium, Teucrium divaricatum ssp. villosum, Teucrium polium, Stachys annua ssp. annua var. annua, Sideritis albiflora, Sideritis leptoclada and Prunella vulgaris demonstrated the inhibition effects against Gram positive bacteria including multiple antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus strains. The ethanolic extract of S. leptoclada was the most effective extract. On the contrary, all of the ethanolic extracts were not effective on Gram negative bacteria and C. albicans. The ethanolic extracts of the plants, which inhibited the bacteria, mostly inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, MU 38, MU 44 and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Even the inhibition zone of S. leptoclada on S. aureus ATCC 25923 was greater than the inhibition zone of oxacillin on the same bacteria.