Antioxidative activity and phenolic composition of pilot-plant and commercial extracts of sage and rosemary

Eight sage (Salvia officinalis) and twenty-four rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extracts, originating from pilot-plant or commercial sources, had different antioxidative activities as measured by accelerated autoxidation of methyl linoleate. Twenty-seven compounds were characterized in the Labiatae family extracts by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry, equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface, and by HPLC coupled with a photodiode array spectrophotometer. Twenty-two compounds were identified, including phenolic acids, carnosol derivatives, and flavonoids. The extracts showed great variation in their HPLC profiles, and no correlation was apparent between their antioxidative efficiency and their composition, in twenty specific phenols. Data indicated that the most effective compounds were carnosol, rosmarinic acid, and carnosic acid, followed by caffeic acid, rosmanol, rosmadial, genkwanin, and cirsimaritin.