Seasonal variation on the major bioactive compounds: total phenolic and flavonoids contents, and antioxidant activity of rosemary from shiraz

Abstract

The rich bioactive compounds of medicinal rosemary, as well as their antioxidant activity has led to its wider application in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. In the present work, seasonal variations of phenolic, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity were evaluated. This experiment was performed based on a complete randomised design with three replications. The total content of flavonoids and some phenolic compounds (caffeic acid and quercetin) increased when plants received sunlight for a longer period of time than the colder seasons. On the other hand, the highest antioxidant activity was observed in rosemary, which was accompanied by an increase in the important phenolic composition of rosmarinic acid in the cold season. Overall, this study can provide useful information about the best harvest period for rosemary to produce the desired compounds for use in the food, pharmaceutical and plant industries.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Biological activities
• harvest time
• plant industries
• rosmarinic acid

Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank the grace of God for completing this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author wish to thank to Fars Research Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources for financial support of this work.