Feasibility of processing summer savory biomass for essential oil and further value added products

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis L) is a popular aromatic culinary herb widely used as an herbal ingredientand even as a food preservative in many parts of the world, particularly, Eastern Europe and America.Traditionally, summer savory has also been used in medicinal treatments of cardiovascular disease, thrombosis,muscle pain, stomach and intestinal disorders and as an anti-inflammatory agent for nasal infections. FarmerJohn Herbs Company, Canning, NS, grows and markets summer savory from their own John Lohr Farm assummer savory, spice blends and other products into some 150 stores in Atlantic Canada. Their objective andsupport for this project is to find alternate and marketable use for an estimated 60t/year of primary andsecondary stem biomass which is annually discarded with a cost for disposal, but could be saved and used todevelop new products that may make money for the company. The intent is to develop an essential oil extractand also a tisane-like value-added product from secondary stem material. An important benefit from summersavory leaf material is the presence of essential oils (notably carvacrol), with important phenolic compounds,monoterpenes and other components which have antibacterial, antioxidant and antifungal capacity. A highyielding, cost-effective extraction of essential oil from different parts of the summer savory plant may providean important value-added product for the Company. This proposed project will determine the yield,composition, potential uses and marketability of essential oil and tisane-like new products derived fromsecondary stem material grown by Farmer John Herbs Company. A mass balance and cost benefit analysis willbe conducted and information shared by networking with potential buyers and brokers in the Atlantic region. Itis anticipated this project will bring additional economic benefit and promote the health impacts of summersavory to Canadian consumers.