OREGANO AND MINT ANTI-INFLAMMATORY COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS

摘要

The present invention relates to bioactivity-guided isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from oregano and mint plants, in particular, rosmarinic acid, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid, and use of these compounds or combinations thereof as anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of conditions related to pain and inflammation and/or as ingredients of dietary supplements. The invention also relates to optimization of the methods for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the bioactive compounds in oregano and mint plants. In particular, this invention introduces an LC/MS (SIM mode) method to achieve co-quantitation of the three organic acids using a unique tandem column system. In addition, the invention also relates to the methods for recovering various water-soluble polyphenols and triterpenes from aromatic plants.