Isolation, Purification, Identification, and Biological Evaluation of Some Components of Satureja Isophylla Rech. f.

Satureja is an aromatic plant related to Lamiaceae family and is native to many regions including Middle East and Central Asia. As a result, we succeeded to extract some active components and investigate the cytotoxic, and microbial activities, and cholinesterase inhibitory effects of various parts of Satureja isophylla, a native plant to Iran. To study the compositions, n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts were collected from the leaves of Satureja isophylla. Phytochemical analysis of the extract of Satureja isophylla led to the identification of six compounds consisted of caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, and rosmarinic acid from the ethyl acetate fraction and quercetin and quercetin-3-O-rutinosioide from the methanolic fraction. These six compounds were identified based on their 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra, and their authenticity was confirmed by comparing the spectra with those reported in the literature. Next, MCF-7, AsPC-1, ACHN, and PC-12 cancer cell lines were applied to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the extracts of the flowers, leaves, stem, and root using the MTT assay method. These extracts had significant toxicity on MCF-7, AsPC-1, and PC-12 cells at 500 µg/mL concentration after two days of exposure time. The extracts showed significant toxicity effects in these tests, while they acted weakly against ACHN cell lines. The extracts showed a weak inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, while they were more effective in inhibiting BuChE than AChE. The activity of these extracts was evaluated on five different microorganisms using disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration methods. The extracts obtained from the flowers showed a moderate antifungal effect on Aspergillus niger. In contrast, the extracts of the leaves and the root had a moderate antibacterial effect against Bacillus subtilis.