ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AND COMPOSITION OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF LAVENDER AND LAVANDIN GROWING IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Abstract

The Lavandula genus is one of the world's most popular medicinal and aromatic plants and is rich in essential oil. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) and lavandin (Lavandula intermedia Emeric ex Loisel.) have high commercial values worldwide. However, their quality depends on genetic properties, environmental conditions, and cultural practices. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the antioxidant capacity and content of constituents in the essential oil of lavender and lavandin grown in the environmental conditions of central Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Samples of lavender and lavandin (cv. grosso) were collected at Butmir, B&H. The tested properties were total phenolic, total flavonoids, antioxidant activity, essential oil content and content of constituents in essential oil. The quality of tested plants was statistically significantly dependent on the cultivar. The highest values of total phenolic, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity were recorded in the lavender (54.26 mg GAE g-1, 41.49 mg CAE g-1 and 17.49 µM Fe2+ g-1, respectively), while the lowest was in the lavandin (39.30 mg GAE g-1, 24.07 mg CAE g-1 and 10.84 µM Fe2+ g-1, respectively). Essential oil content ranged from 4.44 (Lavender) to 8.25 mL 100 g-1 (lavandin). Essential oil of lavender and lavandin were rich in linalool.