ANTIOXIDANT AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF H. OFFICINALIS L. VAR. ANGUSTIFOLIUS, V. ODORATA, B. HYRCANA AND C. SPECIOSUM

Hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis (Lamiaceae) is one of the most important pharmaceutical herbs that extensively cultivated in central and south European countries such as
Russia, Spain, France and Italy (Omidbaigi, 2000). Despite having a bitter taste, it is used as a food flavor and in sauce formulations (Kazazi et al., 2007). It is used
in tea blends for cough relief, for antispasmodic effects, and to relieve catarrh (Khazaie et al., 2008). Hyssop possesses antifungal and anti-bacterial properties (Omidbaigi, 2000), insecticidal (Pavela, 2004), antiplatelet (Tognolini et al., 2006) and α-Glucosidase inhibitory activities (Matsuura et al., 2004).