Catechins In Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis L is an aromatic medicinal plant that represents a source of biologically active secondary metabolites such as essential oils and flavonoids. The identification of the species was carried out based on the external morphological characteristics that were found identical to those described in the new flora of Algeria and southern desert regions. The essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis.L were extracted by hydrodistillation which was associated with the liquid-liquid extraction by petroleum ether, this allowed us to have a better yield. The solid-liquid extraction of flavonoids and catechins more precisely gave a better result with the soxhlet extractor compared to maceration; TLC, UV-Vis and IR analysis of the extract using pure catechin as control allowed us to confirm the presence of catechins in our extract. The study of the antioxidant activity of the extracted catechins, according to the electrochemical method showed that they have an important antioxidant activity confirmed by a DPPH free radical scavenging test.