In this study, essential oils from wild-grown caper (Capparis spinosa L.) and sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) from Dalmatia (Croatia) were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Methyl isothiocyanate (92.06%) was detected as major component of essential oil from caper leaves and flower buds, while limonene (58.37%), sabinene (26.46%), terpinene-4-ol (5.59%) and γ-terpinene (2.81%) were identified as dominant compounds in sea fennel essential oil. Tested essential oils did not exhibit radical-scavenging activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate method, while they showed the antioxidant activity by β-carotene bleaching method and thiobarbituric acid reactive species assay. In addition, sea fennel essential oil exhibited very high inhibitory effect on the oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein. PRACTICAL APLICATIONS Antioxidants are indispensable for the food preservation from oxidative deterioration, as well as for the protection of unsaturated lipids in animal and human tissues. Therefore, the usage of essential oil in foods, which may act as natural antioxidant preservatives, may prolong the shelf life of relevant food products, as well as influence on health of consumers. Essential oils from caper and sea fennel represent alternative for synthetic antioxidants and potential of functional food.
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Bilušić et al. (2010) studied this question.
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