Different Contribution of Non-volatile and Volatile Components in Winter Savory (Satureja montana L.) to Changes in Human Body Temperature

Abstract

Winter savory extract (WSE) is composed of volatile and non-volatile fractions (WSV and WSN, respectively). We have reported that winter savory volatiles such as WSV, carvacrol or thymol (primary and second components in WSV, respectively) contributed to changes in body surface temperature and core body temperature (BST and CBT, respectively) in humans. In this study, we examined WSN, whose effects on body temperature are unclear, and the mixture of WSN with winter savory volatiles, which likely have a different mechanism of action compared with WSN. WSN ingestion inhibited the decrease in wrist and finger BST, whereas mixtures increased the affected skin parts. Furthermore, the onset of effects at the periphery after mixture ingestion was faster than that after WSN ingestion. These results suggest that volatiles added to WSN greatly influence not only the balance of heat production and transfer, but also the rapid onset of effects at the periphery.