SAVORY OIL, SUMMER VARIETY

Chemical properties

Savory oil is obtained by steam distillation of the whole dried herb Satureja hortensis L. or Satureja montana L. ssp. montana (Lamiaceae). It is a light yellow to dark brown liquid with a spicy odor, reminiscent of thyme or origanum.
d²⁵₂₅ 0.875–0.954; n²⁰_D 1.4860–1.5050; α²⁰_D ?5 ° to +4 °; phenol content: 20–59%; saponification number: max. 6; solubility: 1 vol in 2 vol of 80% ethanol at 25 ℃; solutions in 10 vol of ethanol may be slightly hazy.
Several qualities of savory oil exist, depending on the Satureja species used. The main cultivation areas are, for example, France and Eastern Europe (S. hortensis) and Spain (S. montana), where some few tons are produced annually. Characteristic of savory oils is its high content of carvacrol.
Savory oil is used mainly in the food industry, for example, for flavoring sauces and soups.

Chemical properties

See Savory Summer

Chemical properties

The essential oil is obtained by distillation of the whole dried herb. The volatile oil yield is approximately 1% of the dried plant. It has a spicy, aromatic odor reminiscent of thyme and origanum.

Physical properties

It is a light yellow to dark brown liquid. It is soluble in most fixed oils and mineral oil. It is practically insoluble in glycerin and propylene glycol.

Occurrence

In a flowering herb S. hortensis L. (Fam. Labiatae) (Gildemeister & Hoffman, 1961; Guenther, 1949).

The Uses of SAVORY OIL, SUMMER VARIETY

Savory is used to treat indigestion, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal disorders. Traditionally, savory has also been used to stimulate the libido.

Preparation

By steam-distillation of the flowering herb.

Definition

Extractives and their physically modified derivatives. Satureja hortensis, Labiatae.

Essential oil composition

The main constituents of the essential oil in summer savory are the phenols carvacrol and thymol as well as p-cymene, caryophyllene, linalool, terpineol, camphene, myrcene and other terpenoids.

Pharmacology

The essential oil of S. hortensis, in concentrations of 50-100 μg/ml, produced spasmolytic effects, considered to be chiefly myotropic, on isolated smooth muscles from rabbits, guineapigs and cats (Shipochliev, 1968a). General depression without ataxia was observed in mice receiving ip injections of 50 mg/kg. as a 5% emulsion, with or without preliminary treatment with 150mg iproniazid phosphate/kg given ip 24 hr earlier. The effect on the central nervous system did not resemble that of reserpine (Shipochliev, 1968b).

Safety Profile

Poison by skin contact. Moderately toxic by ingestion. A severe skin irritant. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes