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.
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; n20D 1.4860–1.5050; α20D ?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.
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.
In a flowering herb S. hortensis L. (Fam. Labiatae) (Gildemeister & Hoffman, 1961; Guenther, 1949).
Savory is used to treat indigestion, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal disorders. Traditionally, savory has also been used to stimulate the libido.
Extractives and their physically modified derivatives. Satureja hortensis, Labiatae.
By steam-distillation of the flowering herb.
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.
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).
Poison by skin contact. Moderately toxic by ingestion. A severe skin irritant. When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes
