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Carvacrol is a major component of many essential oils of the genus Thymus, Satureja, and Origanum, determining their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and other properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate some physicochemical and biological properties of pure carvacrol. The surface tension and density were measured at six different temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80°C). The surface tension values were between 53.11 and 60.38 mN/m, while density varied from 0.978 to 0.99 kg/m3. The antibacterial activity against seven pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic bacteria was investigated. The diameter of the inhibition zones was determined in the range of 3.9–4.9 mm. The antioxidant activity was determined by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (1687.0 µmol TE/mL) method.

One of the main parameters of the extraction process is the coefficient of diffusion. It gives information about the diffusion properties of the material to be extracted and depends on various factors: raw material structure, solvent type, temperature, process duration, etc. Determination of molecular diffusion coefficients in extraction from red (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) and black (Crataegus nigra Waldst & Kit) hawthorn is an objective of the work. The extracts were obtained by ultrasonic extraction with 50 and 70% ethanol at three temperatures (20, 40 and 60°C). The highest values of coefficients for both hawthorn species were obtained at 60°C with 50% ethanol – 5.13.10-6 m2/s for black hawthorn and 6.4.10-6 m2/s for red hawthorn.

The sweet fennel fruits (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce Mill.) are processed to obtain their essential oil. It is part of the composition of various products from the food industry, pharmacy, medicine and cosmetics. The scope is to investigate the influence of the fruits sterilization with superheated water steam on the yield and composition of the essential oil, before the fruits processing by water distillation. The main components in the essential oil, obtained from fruits before sterilization, are trans-anethole (67.10%), fenchone (21.58%), methyl chavicol (3.14%), and α-pinene (2.31%). The essential oil, obtained from fruits after sterilization, has the same main components in its composition but their amount is different: trans-anethole (71.38%), fenchone (16.75%), methyl chavicol (2.89%), and α-pinene (2.26%).

Common thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) and summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) are a plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Their essential oils widely used in different foods as flavorings and preservatives agents. The surface tension of black tea with the addition of common thyme essential oil and of chamomile tea with the addition of summer savory essential oil were obtained. The quantity of essential oils varying with amounts of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03%. The surface tension was measured at different temperatures (between 30 and 80°C) and often used in food products and hot drinks. The teas with the addition of 0.03% common thyme and summer savory essential oils are more stable at both low and higher temperatures in terms of taste and aroma protection.

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.), Lamiaceae family, was used in folk medicine and food industry, and the resulting essential oil was used to flavor various food products, as well as a biologically active substance in cosmetics. The aim of the present work was the determination of the physicochemical parameters surfase tension and density of summer savory essential oil, obtained by steam distillation under industrial conditions, at four different temperatures 10, 20, 30 and 40°C. The temperature dependence of the two physicochemical parameters shows that the values for density were in the range of 0.921 g/cm3 at 10°C to 0.898 g/cm3 at 40°C, and for surface tension from 31.68 mN/m at 10°C to 27.51 mN/m at 40°C, respectively. The antioxidant activity was also determined on the summer savory essential oil by four methods DPPH (0.50 mM TE/mL), FRAP (1.23 mM TE/mL), ABTS (0.54 mM TE/mL), and CUPRAC (2.91 mM TE/mL). The investigation of these parameters and properties were a prerequisite for further studies on the application of summer savory essential oil in various food products.

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is a plant source of essential oil belonging to the Lamiaceae family, widely used in the food industry. The present work aims to determine the physicochemical parameters of food emulsions containing the essential oil. The summer savory essential oil with main components carvacrol (63.71%), γ-terpinene (20.47%), and p-cymene (5.08%) was used in this study. Several model variants of emulsions have been developed with varying amounts of emulsifier (2 and 3% soy protein isolate), oil phase (20 and 40% sunflower oil), and essential oil (0.2 and 0.4%). The following physicochemical parameters of the emulsion were determined: Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy. This parameter was used to determine the thermal effect of the system. The process was determined as exothermic with the negative enthalpy. Emulsions prepared with 2% soybean protein isolate, 40% oil phase, and 0.4% essential oil were characterized by some good results with high equilibrium constants and high Gibbs energies. Model variants of salad diet dressings had also been developed, with 0.2 and 0.3% essential oil, which were qualified by sensory analysis. The overall evaluation of salad dressings showed that the evaluators perceived with best sensory properties in those with 0.2% essential oil.