Abstract
The essential oils of three different growth stages of Trifolium pratense L. (TP1, TP2 and TP3) were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The highest content of volatile compounds was found in the essential oil sample TP1, where terpenes such as β-myrcene (4.55%), p-cymene (3.59%), limonene (0.86%), tetrahydroionone (1.56%) were highlighted due to their biological activity. The antioxidant activity was determined by following the scavenging capacity of the essential oils for the free radicals DPPH·, NO· and O2·-, as well as effects of the investigated oils on lipid peroxidation (LP). In all three cases, the sample TP1 showed the best radical-capturing capacity for DPPH· (27.61±0.12 µg/mL), NO· (16.03±0.11 µg/mL), O2·- (16.62±0.29 µg/mL) and also had the best lipid peroxidation effects in the Fe2+/ascorbate induction system (9.35±0.11 µg/mL). Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against the following bacteria cultures: Escherichia coli (ATCC10526), Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 14028), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 11632) and Bacillus cereus (ATCC 10876). None of the examined essential oil samples showed inhibitory effects on the tested bacterial strains.