Antioxidant, Antimicrobial Activity and Total Phenolic Content within the Aerial Parts of Artemisia absinthum, Artemisia santonicum and Saponaria officinalis

Three native Turkish medicinal and aromatic plants (Artemisia absinthum, Artemisia santonicum and Saponaria officinalis) were investigated to analyze their antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and antimicrobial activity. Their total antioxidant activity was determined by using a beta-carotene bleaching assay and their antimicrobial activity was determined by utilizing an agar disc diffusion assay. Methanol extracts of the three species analyzed showed high antioxidant activity and among them Artemisia absinthum possessed the highest quantity (71.78%). The total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu assay) was shown to be between 6.57 mu gGAE/mg dry weight basis (Saponaria officinalis) and 8.86 mu gGAE/mg dry weight basis (Artemisia absinthunz). There was a positive correlation (R = 0.819) between the total phenolic integral content and the antioxidant activity measured in the plant samples. The aqueous and methanol extracts of the aerial parts of the species showed antibacterial activities against a number of microorganisms. The methanol extracts were found to inhibit the growth of microorganisms more than the aqueous extracts. These findings suggest that the methanol extracts of the plants tested contain compounds with antimicrobial properties. These exhibited properties propose that such plant extracts can possibly be used as natural preservatives in the food and pharmaceutical industries.