Background: Satureja mutica (Lamiaceae) is an herbaceous plant which grows in North-West of Iran. Oleanolic acid has been previously isolated from some Lamiaceae genus and showed a broad range of biological activities. Besides Silphium spp., Panax quinquefolium root and Calendula officinalis flower as the interesting source of oleanolic acid used in the herbal industry, here we report the isolation and quantitative evaluation of oleanolic acid, as one of the major constituents in S. mutica.

Methods: Dried aerial parts of S. mutica were successively extracted with diethyl ether. This extract was used for further isolation on silica gel column chromatography to obtain compound 1. Isolated compound was identified based on the spectral data of ¹ H- NMR, ¹³C-NMR and Mass spectroscopy. Densitometric analysis of the developed plate of TLC was carried out to quantify the oleanolic acid using TLC scanner.

Results: Isolated compound (1) was structural elucidated as oleanolic acid and its NMR data showed good agreement with the reference data mentioned in literature. Spectrodensitometric analysis showed that the band characterized by absorption maximum of oleanolic acid was placed at λmax = 270 nm without derivatization. The contents of oleanolic acid are calculated 17.5 mg in 100 g of S. mutica leaves based on dry weight.