Laurus nobilis, Salvia sclarea and Salvia officinalis Essential Oils and Hydrolates: Evaluation of Liquid and Vapor Phase Chemical Composition and Biological Activities

Abstract

<i>Laurus nobilis</i>, <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and <i>Salvia sclarea</i> essential oils (EOs) and hydrolates (HYs) were investigated to define their chemical compositions and biological properties. Gas-chromatography/Mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) and Headspace-GC/MS (HS-GC/MS) techniques were used to characterize the liquid and vapor phase chemical composition of EOs and HYs. 1,8-Cineole (42.2%, 33.5%) and α-pinene (16.7%, 39.0%) were the main compounds of <i>L. nobilis</i> EO; 1,8-cineole (30.3%, 48.4%) and camphor (17.1%, 8.7%) were for <i>S. officinalis</i> EO; linalyl acetate (62.6%, 30.1%) and linalool (11.1%, 28.9%) were for <i>S. sclarea</i> EO for the liquid and vapor phase, respectively. Chemical profile of HYs was characterized by 1,8-cineole (65.1%, 61.4%) as a main constituent of <i>L. nobilis</i> and <i>S. officinalis</i> HYs, while linalool (89.5%) was the main constituent of <i>S. sclarea</i> HY. The antioxidant activity of EOs and HYs was carried out by DPPH and ABTS assays and antimicrobial properties were also investigated by microdilution and the disc diffusion method for liquid and vapor phase against five different bacterial strains such as <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 25922, <i>Pseudomonas fluorescens</i> ATCC 13525 and <i>Acinetobacter bohemicus</i> DSM 102855 among Gram-negative and <i>Bacillus cereus</i> ATCC 10876 and <i>Kocuria marina</i> DSM 16420 among Gram-positive. <i>L. nobilis</i> and <i>S. officinalis</i> EOs demonstrated considerable antibacterial activity, while <i>S. sclarea</i> EO proved to be less effective. Agar diffusion method and vapor phase test showed the EOs activity with the biggest halo inhibition diameters against <i>A. bohemicus</i> and <i>B. cereus</i>. A remarkably high antioxidant activity was determined for <i>L. nobilis</i> showing low EC₅₀ values and also for <i>S. sclarea;</i> good EO results were obtained in both of the used assays. <i>S. officinalis</i> EC₅₀ values were slightly higher to which corresponds to a lower antioxidant activity. Concerning the HYs, the EC₅₀ values for <i>L. nobilis</i>, <i>S. officinalis</i> and <i>S. sclarea</i> were remarkably high corresponding to an extremely low antioxidant activity, as also obtained by expressing the values in Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC).