Biological Activity and Essential Oil Analysis of Endemic Centaurea gloriosa var. multiflora Radic
Abstract Centaurea gloriosa var. multiflora Radic (Asteraceae) is a Mediterranean plant species, endemic to the Biokovo Mountain (Croatia). This work presents the very first report on phytochemical studies of essential oil and different plant extracts of this endemic species. The volatile profile of odorous parts of the plant was analyzed by GC-MS, and n-hexane, ethanol and aqueous extracts have been examined for the content of total phenolic and antioxidant activity. The amount of total phenolic content was higher in aqueous extract than in n-hexane extract, and ethanol extract, respectively. As expected, extracts with a higher total phenolic content have more prominent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. In adddition, essential oil and waste water after hydrodistillation were subjected to an antimicrobial assay and showed certain antimicrobial activity.