Nutritional parameters of selected culinary herbs (Lamiaceae)

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the contents of total phenolics and flavonoids, and total antioxidant activity in 7 species and cultivars of herbs commonly used in the fresh state (basil, marjoram, summer savory, thyme). The total flavonoid content ranged from 125 to 360 mg CE·100 g^-1 of fresh herb. The highest average total flavonoid content was found in thyme (291.2 mg CE·100 g^-1) followed by basil cv. 'Lettuce Leaf' (251.0 mg CE·100 g^-1). The measured total phenolic content ranged from 0.16 g GAE·100 g^-1 to 0.80 GAE·100 g^-1. The highest average level of total phenolics was determined in marjoram (0.577 GAE·100 g^-1) and thyme (0.530 GAE·100 g^-1), followed by basil cvs. ´Ohře´ and ´Compakt´ (0.363 GAE and 0.250 GAE·100 g^-1, respectively). Total antioxidant capacity was evaluated by the Analytik Jena Photochem system. The best results were obtained again with thyme (0.891 g TE·100 g^-1) followed by basil cv. 'Lettuce Leaf' (0.875 g TE·100 g^-1).