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Description
Plants belonging to the genus Salvia are well known for their aromatic properties, which arise from a diverse mixture of volatile compounds. These compounds, primarily monoterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and oxygenated sesquiterpenes, represent the major constituents of Salvia essential oils and contribute significantly to their characteristic aroma and biological activity. The present study aimed to characterize and compare the volatile profiles of 33 Salvia species using headspace gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–HS–MS).
Volatile compounds were identified by comparison of the obtained mass spectra with the NIST spectral database. A total of 132 volatile compounds were detected, demonstrating the remarkable chemical diversity within the investigated species. Among the identified compounds, 19.7% were classified as monoterpenes, 16.7% as oxygenated monoterpenes, 36.4% as sesquiterpenes, 14.4% as oxygenated sesquiterpenes, while the remaining 12.9% belong to other compound classes, including aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and esters. Sesquiterpenes represented the dominant class in most species, although considerable interspecific variation was observed.
The highest number of volatile constituents (48 compounds) was identified in Salvia officinalis Purpuresens. Its volatile profile was characterized by the predominance of (−)-β-pinene (11.33%), Z,Z,Z-1,5,9,9-tetramethyl-1,4,7-cycloundecatriene (10.23%), α-thujone (7.53%), camphor (7.04%), cyclofenchene (5.85%), and camphene (5.53%).
Comparison of the volatile profiles revealed substantial qualitative and semi-quantitative differences among the investigated species. The observed variability reflects both species-specific characteristics and the influence of environmental factors, highlighting the importance of volatile compound profiling for understanding the chemical diversity of the genus Salvia and supporting its potential applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and aromatic plant research.
Keywords: Salvia, sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, essential oils, GC-HS-MS, Salvia officinalis Purpuresens
Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by Macedonian Ecological Society for the financial support of the project titled ”Integrated Strategy for Taxonomic Discrimination of Salvia Species Based on Chemical and Genetic Markers”.