Purpose: To identify and compare the composition of volatile components of two
Salvia
species, and
also their free radical scavenging activity.
Method: The essential oil of two
Salvia species was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass
spectroscopy (GC-MS) techniques while their phenolic contents were analyzed by high performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC). The in vitro antioxidant activity of the essential oils was evaluated by 1,
1-diphenyl-2 picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging technique.
Results: Seven derivatives were identified for
S. verticillata
and four derivatives for
S. suffruticosa
. For
both species, the main compounds were 1, 8-cineole (
S. suffruticosa: 31.21 % and
S. verticillata: 38.26
%) and camphor (
S. suffruticosa: 27.11 % and
S. verticillata: 22.98 %). The content of the phenolic
compounds was: ascorbic acid (
S. suffruticosa: 23.98 % and
S. verticillata: 33.53 %), p- hydroxyl
benzoic acid (
S. suffruticosa 11.50 % and
S. verticillata 3.83 %), vanilic acid (
S. suffruticosa 5.86% and
S. verticillata: 6.55 %), syringic acid (
S. suffruticosa 6.29 %), ferulic acid (
S. suffruticosa: 6.35 % and
S.
verticillata 6.04 %) and sinapic acid (
S. suffruticosa 6.26 % and
S. verticillata 4.93%). DPPH radical
scavenging ability was 0.548 % for
S. suffruticosa for
S. suffruticosa and 0.558 % for
S. verticillata.
Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that these two species are rich in 1, 8-cineole,
camphor and phenolic compounds. There is no significant difference between the radical scavenging
activities of the two essential oils.