Industrial Crops and Products 69 (2015) 329–334

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Industrial Crops and Products

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Comparison of essential oil composition and phenolic acid content of

selected Salvia species measured by GC–MS and HPLC methods
Bo Li a , Chenlu Zhang b , Liang Peng a,c , Zongsuo Liang a,d,∗ , Xijun Yan e ,
Yonghong Zhu e , Yan Liu f
a
College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, PR China
b
College of Biological Science & Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723001, PR China
c
College of Pharmacy, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xi’an 712046, PR China
d
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China
e
Tianjin Tasly Holding Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin 300410, PR China
f
Tianjin Tasly Modern Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources Co., Ltd., Tianjin 300402, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Salvia is an important genus containing nearly 1000 species of the Labiatae family; most species of Salvia
Received 5 September 2014 are traditional herbal medicines and industrial materials with various active components. Salvia is also
Received in revised form 12 February 2015 evidently rich in essential oils and phenolic acids. This study aimed to investigate the chemical compo-
Accepted 21 February 2015
sition of the essential oils and the content of phenolic acids in four Salvia species cultivated in Yangling,
PR China. The essential oils from the fresh leaves and flowers of Salvia miltiorrhiza, Salvia przewalskii,
Keywords:
Salvia officinalis, and Salvia deserta were obtained by simultaneous distillation extraction and evaluated
Salvia miltiorrhiza
by GC–MS; the phenolic acids were analyzed by HPLC. Essential oil derived from S. deserta flowers con-
Salvia przewalskii
Salvia officinalis
tained at most 72 compounds, while 11 compounds were common to all Salvia oils. Aromadendrene
Salvia deserta oxide-(1) (8.3%) and ␤-caryophyllene (11.05%) were the major constituents in essential oils from S. mil-
Essential oils tiorrhiza leaves and flowers, respectively. The limonene content in leaf oil markedly differed from that of
GC–MS flower oil from S. przewalskii; thujone was the predominant component in both the leaf and flower oils
Phenolic acids of S. officinalis. Moreover, ␤-phellandrene (29.74%) was the most abundant compound in the essential
HPLC oil of S. deserta flowers. Composition of essential oils from these Salvia species showed strong tissue and
organ specificity. Furthermore, the contents of ferulic acid, caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid in the aerial
parts of these species were also investigated. The leaves of S. przewalskii and flowers of S. officinalis were
rich in rosmarinic acid, with contents of 64.1 ± 3.9 and 53.4 ± 2.9 mg/g dry weight, respectively. Thus, S.
przewalskii leaves could be considered a good source of rosmarinic acid.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Salvia miltiorrhiza, commonly called “Danshen”, is a traditional

The genus Salvia, which includes over 900 morphological
species, is one of the largest members of the Labiatae family. It
is widely distributed from the coastal region of the Mediterranean
to Asia (Rajabi et al., 2014). Approximately 84 species of Salvia are
distributed throughout China, mostly in the southwestern regions,
such as Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet (Wu and Raven, 1994). Many
sages are important aromatic and commercial species; they have
long been used as folk medicines and contain many active com-
pounds (Rzepa et al., 2009; Walch et al., 2011). The dry root of
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 29 87092262; fax: +86 29 87092262.
E-mail address: liangzs@ms.iswc.ac.cn (Z. Liang).
Chinese medicine that has been used to treat cardiovascular and
cerebrovascular diseases since ancient times (Cheng, 2007). Salvia
przewalskii, instead of S. miltiorrhiza, is an endemic medicinal plant
used in western China. The levels of tanshinone IIA, the main effec-
tive component in S. przewalskii roots, are significantly higher in
this species than in “Danshen” plants (Skala and Wysokinska, 2005).
Other closely related species, such as Salvia officinalis and Salvia
deserta, are also used as indigenous herbal medicines and indus-
trial materials throughout the world (Capek and Hribalova, 2004;
Tezuka et al., 1998).
The flowers and leaves of different Salvia species are an abun-
dant source of essential oils, which originate from a series of plant
secondary metabolism processes. Essential oils are responsible for
the characteristic aroma and flavor of these plants; thus, they

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.02.047
0926-6690/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
330 B. Li et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 69 (2015) 329–334

Table 1 with a unique scent was obtained; the oils were stored in sealed
Salvia species collected from different regions of China.
tubes and protected from light with silver paper at 4 ◦ C prior to
Species Subgenus Location Altitude (m) Accession GC–MS analysis.
S. miltiorrhiza Subg. Sclarea Shandong 200 SM001 The remaining Salvia leaves and flowers were dried in an oven at
S. przewalskii Subg. Salvia Tibet 3890 SP008 a constant temperature of 45 ◦ C for 72 h. Subsequently, the samples
S. officinalis Subg. Salvia Sichuan 500 SO015 were comminuted into a powder with a mortar, sieved through a
S. deserta Subg. Sclarea Shaanxi 560 SD012 0.45 mm mesh screen, and then prepared for the phenolic acids
analyses by HPLC.

are extensively applied in the perfume and cosmetic industries,

as aromatherapeutics and food flavorings (Jenks and Kim, 2013).
Moreover, many Salvia species are very important in several fields,
from food chemistry to pharmaceutics (Flamini et al., 2007). Sage
essential oils are complex chemical mixtures of various individual
components. Because of their low boiling points, they can be recov-
ered from different plant tissues by steam distillation (Giannouli
and Kintzios, 2000). The essential oil extracted from S. officinalis
is considered to contain a variety of components (Stesevic et al.,
2014); other sages also possess extraordinary fragrance, indicating
the presence of essential oils. Phenolic acids are phenylpropanoids
compounds derived from phenylalanine and the tyrosine metabolic
pathways that are active in many Salvia species (Zhang et al., 2013).
Various phenolic acids exhibit notable antioxidant activities and
free radical scavenging abilities (Chen et al., 1999). Rosmarinic acid,
one of the most abundant phenolic acids, is common in many Salvia
species (Kan et al., 2007) and is extensively utilized in the pharma-
ceutical and cosmetic industries for its high antioxidant activity
(Shekarchi et al., 2012).
The differences of the essential oil composition and phenolic
acid content between the leaves and flowers of S. miltiorrhiza, S.
przewalskii, S. officinalis, and S. deserta are not clear. Thus, this study
investigated the chemical composition of essential oils from dif-
ferent fresh aerial parts of these four Salvia species and aimed
to illustrate the chemical polymorphism among different species
based on the characteristics of essential oils. Moreover, we also
analyzed the contents of three phenolic acids in the selected
Salvia species to evaluate their potential application as industrial
materials.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plant material
S. miltiorrhiza and three closely related species (S. przewalskii, S.
officinalis, and S. deserta) were collected from different natural habi-
tat regions in China (Table 1). Different wild plantlets were gathered
and cultivated in the medicinal botanical garden at the College
of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, PR China in
2012. Research fellow Yansheng Chen certified all plants, and the
voucher specimens were deposited at Northwest A&F University.
Different Salvia species were cultivated at the same conditions. The
fresh leaves and flowers of these species were collected in June 2014
at the flowering stage of the plants.
2.2. Essential oils extraction and samples drying process
2.3. Essential oils analyses by GC–MS method
The essential oils from different Salvia leaves and flowers were
analyzed with a GC/MS–QP2010 Ultra system (Shimadzu, Japan)
equipped with an rxi-5MS capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm; film
thickness 0.25 ␮m). High purity helium at a flow rate of 1 mL/min
was used as the carrier gas. The purge flow rate was at 3.0 mL/min,
and the linear velocity was 36.8 cm/sec. The temperature was
programmed as follows: 80 ◦ C for 5 min, followed by a gradual
increase to 290 ◦ C at a rate of 4 ◦ C/min and a hold at 290 ◦ C for
30 min as previously described (Liang et al., 2009). One microliter
of diluted sample (split ratio 1/10) was injected into the GC at 250 ◦ C
with an autosampler (Shimadzu, Japan). The MS was operating in
the electron impact mode (70 eV) at an interface temperature of
280 ◦ C; the ion source temperature was 230 ◦ C. The chemical com-
ponents of essential oils were identified by matching their mass
spectra to mass spectral libraries (NIST08.L and NIST08s.L) and
comparing their retention indices to literature values (Babushok
and Andriamaharavo, 2012; Djabou et al., 2012; Falco et al., 2013;
Hosni et al., 2010; Sellami et al., 2012). The concentration of the
identified compound was computed based on the percentage of
the relative peak area (%).
2.4. Phenolic acids analyses by HPLC method
The HPLC analysis was performed according to a method
adapted from a previous study (Yang et al., 2009). Samples (0.02 g)
of the dried leaves and flowers of the four Salvia plants were
extracted with 4 ml of 70% methanol for 12 h. The extracts were
treated with ultrasound for 45 min and then centrifuged at 9820 × g
for 10 min. The supernatant was passed through a 0.45 ␮m milli-
pore filter in preparation for analysis. The phenolic acid content
was analyzed using an HPLC system (Waters, USA) coupled to a
1252 binary HPLC pump, 2487 dual ␭ absorbance detector and
2707 autosampler. A Waters Symmetry C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 ␮m)
reverse-phase silica gel column was used. The data were acquired
and processed using the Breeze software (Waters, USA). All samples
were tested in triplicate.
HPLC grade acetonitrile (Tedia, NJ, USA), analytical grade
methanol (Xilong, Shantou, China) and ultrapure H2 O (Shang-
hai Ultrapure Technology, China) were applied in present study.
Table 2
Gradient elution method for the phenolic acids analyses of Salvia species.
No. Time (min) Flow (ml/min) % Aa % Bb

1 0 1 5 95
The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation for 3 h 2 10 1 20 80
using a modified simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) appa- 3 15 1 25 75
ratus according to a previous study (Chaintreau, 2001). First, 45 g 4 20 1 25 75
of fresh Salvia leaves and flowers were soaked in 300 ml of distilled 5 25 1 20 80
6 28 1 30 70
H2 O for 1 h; the resultant mixture was then subjected to hydrodis-
7 36 1 30 70
tillation for 3 h. The distillates were simultaneously extracted with 8 37 1 100 0
ether (Kermel, Tianjin, China) in a volume of 100 ml. The extracts 9 44 1 100 0
were collected, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate (Kermel, Tian- 10 45 1 5 95
jin, China) and then concentrated with a rotary evaporator under a
A, acetonitrile.
b
reduced pressure. Finally, a small amount of yellowish essential oil B, ultrapure H2 O contained phosphoric acid (0.02%).
 B. Li et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 69 (2015) 329–334 331

Table 3
Major chemical components in the essential oils of different Salvia species.

Compounds R. time RIa RIb % Relative peak area

SM-Lc SM-F SP-L SP-F SO-L SO-F SD-L SD-F

␤-Phellandrene 4.10 964 1004 – – – – – – – 29.74

1-Octen-3-ol 4.12 969 962 5.95 6.43 – – – – 4.98 –
␤-Pinene 4.24 943 979 – – 3.36 0.71 2.85 15.15 – 0.68
␤-Myrcene 4.32 958 991 – 0.36 0.71 – 0.49 0.64 – 0.71
o-Cymene 4.99 1042 1025 0.31 0.18 – – 0.39 0.52 – 2.15
Limonene 5.12 1018 1030 – – 20.5 3.65 – – – 0.96
Eucalyptol 5.14 1059 1032 1.38 – – – 14.82 14.91 – 0.73
␥-Terpinene 5.56 998 1060 0.14 trd 0.4 – 0.25 0.78 – 3.02
cis-␤-Terpineol 5.92 1158 1141 – – 1.52 – 0.26 – – 2.62
Diethyl sulfone 6.24 926 926 1.26 0.59 – – – – – –
Linalool 6.50 1082 1099 1.54 2.91 3.93 0.56 1.48 0.12 – tr
␤-Thujone 6.76 1062 1115 – – – – 14.86 6.05 – –
␣-Thujone 7.01 1062 1089 0.49 – – – 6.36 19.63 – 0.2
␤-Terpinol 7.78 1158 1137 – – 1.16 – – 0.34 – –
Camphor 7.83 1121 1143 – 0.11 2.34 0.12 12.7 1.63 – –
Borneol 8.32 1138 1150 0.24 1.56 1.4 0.22 10.17 6.71 – –
4-Terpineol 8.60 1137 1155 2.16 – 1.14 – 0.77 1 – 10.91
␣-Terpineol 8.95 1143 1189 0.91 0.78 4.66 0.77 0.49 0.73 – 0.72
n-Dodecane 9.03 1214 1200 – – – 1.22 0.15 0.14 2.53 0.79
Bornyl acetate 11.70 1277 1285 2.52 5.79 3.44 – 2.86 0.12 – –
␣-Copaene 13.70 1221 1376 0.8 0.26 – – tr – tr 0.84
␤-Bourbonene 14.86 1339 1386 2.70 1.4 – – – – – –
cis-Jasmone 14.94 1338 1371 1.96 0.39 tr – – – – –
␤-Elemene 15.03 1398 1391 0.83 0.67 – – – – – 0.38
n-Tetradecane 15.12 1413 1392 – – – 0.91 0.16 – 1.66 0.52
␤-Caryophyllene 15.95 1494 1419 4.72 11.05 0.3 – 3.38 4.64 0.25 4.6
␣-Humulene 17.00 1579 1460 1.73 3.61 – – 3.59 3.43 – 0.99
Germacrene D 17.28 1515 1556 6.82 3.45 – – tr – – 0.94
␥-Muurolene 17.70 1435 1477 – – tr 0.11 tr – 0.21 0.16
cis-␣-Farnesene 18.53 1458 1508 0.62 2.43 – – – – – –
␦-Cadinene 19.10 1469 1524 1.49 0.67 – 0.28 0.11 tr – 0.33
Caryophyllene oxide 20.97 1570 1581 2.60 7.93 2.78 2.39 1.93 1.87 5.99 4.95
Ledol 21.19 1530 1600 – – – – 5.96 7.92 8.36 6.98
Epiglobulol 21.25 1475 1548 1.05 0.94 – – – – – –
Humulene II epoxide 21.75 1592 1608 3.18 – 0.22 0.11 1.38 0.91 0.94 1.26
␥-Eudesmol 22.40 1626 1617 – 2.68 2.72 1.69 – – – –
␤-Eudesmol 22.97 1593 1641 – 3.53 4.08 – – – – –
␣-Cadinol 23.06 1580 1645 7.31 – – – – – – –
␣-Eudesmol 23.06 1598 1653 – 5.8 3.61 3.12 – – – –
Spathulenol 23.56 1536 1572 0.18 1.97 – – – – – –
Allo-aromadendrene oxide-(2) 23.81 1462 1623 1.78 0.27 – – – – – 0.59
Ledene oxide-(II) 24.00 1293 1293 1.51 0.67 – – – – – –
(2,2,6-Trimethyl-bicyclo[4.1.0] hept-1-yl)-methanol 27.52 1266 1266 – – 1.37 1.41 – – – –
Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone 28.17 1754 1835 – 0.68 – 0.36 – tr 0.45 tr
Aromadendrene oxide-(1) 28.76 1462 1462 8.30 4.3 – – tr – – 2.15
Aromadendrene oxide-(2) 31.62 1462 1443 3.49 2.75 – – – – 0.39 –
n-Heneicosane 32.13 2109 2100 – – – 0.47 – tr 0.56 –
Manool 33.74 2016 1961 0.93 0.76 0.44 2.83 1.23 1.91 1.39 4.83
Total compounds 62 63 68 51 71 69 63 72
Yield % 1.47 1.02 1.61 1.30 1.08 1.52 1.26 0.91

Only the main components were reported. – : not detected.

a
Retention indices on rxi-5 column.
b
Retention indices relative to literature values.
c
SM-L and SM-F, S. miltiorrhiza leaves and flowers; SP-L and SP-F, S. przewalskii leaves and flowers; SO-L and SO-F, S. officinalis leaves and flowers; SD-L and SD-F, S. deserta
leaves and flowers.
d
tr, trace (<0.1%).

The gradient elution method was performed with acetonitrile and
ultrapure H2 O that contained HPLC-grade phosphoric acid (0.02%)
(Table 2). Three phenolic acids were simultaneously detected at
288 nm. Each phenolic acid was identified by comparing its reten-
tion time with that of a standard substance; the phenolic acid
content was quantified based on a standard curve generated in our
lab.
multiple variables to two or three new ones while retaining most
the information of samples (Flamini et al., 2014).
A cluster analysis based on the chemical composition of all
essential oils was implemented using the NTSYS software version
2.10 e with the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic
mean (UPGMA) clustering algorithm.

3. Results and discussion

2.5. Data analyses
A principal component analysis (PCA) of the common com-
pounds in the essential oils was performed with the SPSS
software version 16.0. This approach is commonly used to reduce
3.1. Yield of essential oil
The yield of essential oil strong varied for different leaves and
flowers of these four Salvia species. The yield of leaf oil ranged from
332 B. Li et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 69 (2015) 329–334

1.08 to 1.61% (v/w), while that of flower oil fluctuated between 0.91 Table 4
Component matrixa .
and 1.52%. The yield of oil was highest in the leaves of S. przewalskii
and flowers of S. officinalis. All essential oils were yellowish and Component
fragrant.
PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4
Essential oils extracted from aromatic plants have a wide range
␤-Myrcene .473 −.573 .494 .276
of medicinal and industrial applications, such as antiseptic, preser-
␥-Terpinene .943 .007 .267 .180
vatives, and antiphlogistic uses (Samejo et al., 2013). The plant Linalool −.550 −.499 .272 .565
essential oil composition depends on diverse factors, such as the 4-Terpineol .918 .075 .129 .276
harvest periods and stages of plant development (Verma et al., ␣-Terpineol −.171 −.848 .210 .266
2014). Moreover, the yield of essential oil strongly increased at dif- ␤-Caryophyllene −.064 .471 .317 .698
␦-Cadinene −.111 .417 −.510 .681
ferent plant harvest times, particularly at the vegetative phase after Caryophyllene oxide −.175 .612 .639 .218
a long period of drought stress (Jug-Dujaković et al., 2012). In the Humulene II epoxide .257 .166 −.832 .389
present study, all Salvia species were cultivated under the same Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone −.474 .660 .540 −.156
environmental conditions, including precipitation, temperature, Manool .872 .263 .144 −.244
Eigenvalue 3.386 2.604 2.224 1.807
solar radiation, and soil condition; consequently, the influences
% of variance 30.78 23.677 20.218 16.43
of the environmental and technical parameters were considered
a
negligible, and the differences in the essential oil yield and com- Four components were extracted; extraction method, principal component
analysis (PCA).
position could mainly be attributed to the genotypes of different
Salvia species.

3.2. Essential oils composition

The detailed compositions of the leaf and flower oils iden-

tified by GC–MS displayed remarkable chemical polymorphism
among the four Salvia species (Table 3). A minimum of 51 com-
pounds were identified in the essential oil of S. przewalskii flowers;
however, S. deserta flower oil contained a maximum of 72 com-
pounds. Eleven compounds were shared among the essential oils
of all investigated Salvia species. The major shared components
were ␤-caryophyllene (0.25–11.05%), 4-terpineol (0.77–10.91%),
caryophyllene oxide (1.87–7.93%), manool (0.44–4.83%) and
linalool (0.12–3.93%) (Table 3).
The essential oil of S. miltiorrhiza leaves primarily consisted of
aromadendrene oxide-(1) (8.3%), followed by ␣-cadinol (7.31%) and
germacrene D (6.82%); ␤-caryophyllene (11.05%), caryophyllene
oxide (7.93%), and 1-octen-3-ol (6.43%) were most abundant in the
essential oil of S. miltiorrhiza flowers (Table 3). In the present study,
caryophyllene and its oxide were found in the essential oils of all
Salvia species, which was in accordance with previous work that
reported it as an effective anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-
microbial (Liang et al., 2009). Moreover, the germacrene D from
essential oils can be used as a larvicidal crop protector (Teles et al.,
2013). Limonene (20.5%) was the most abundant compound in S.
przewalskii leaf oil; ␣-terpineol (4.66%) and ␤-eudesmol (4.08%)
were also abundant in this sage oil. However, the essential oil of S.
przewalskii flowers contained markedly less limonene (3.65%) than
the leaf oil (Table 3).
Seventy-one compounds were identified in the oil of S. offic-
inalis leaves, and among these compounds ␤-thujone (14.86%),
eucalyptol (14.82%) and camphor (12.7%) were most prominent.
However, the content of ␣-thujone (19.63%) was highest in the
essential oil of S. officinalis flowers; ␤-pinene (15.15%) and euca-
lyptol (14.91%) were also significant components of S. officinalis
flower oil (Table 3). This result indicated that thujone, which is
a natural substance found in several plants and commonly used
as ingredient in foods and beverages (Farhat et al., 2009), was
the major constituent in S. officinalis oil. Thujone and other active
compounds in the essential oil of S. officinalis, such as camphor,
were demonstrated to exert a potentially synergistic anticancer
effect (Russo et al., 2013). We also analyzed the chemical char-
acteristics of essential oils from S. deserta cultivated in Yangling,
PR China, and this species was mainly distributed in the Xinjiang
Autonomous Regions of China (Tezuka et al., 1998). Ledol (8.36%),
caryophyllene oxide (5.99%) and 1-octen-3-ol (4.98%) were the pri-
mary constituents in the leaf oil derived from this sage species;
␤-phellandrene (29.74%), 4-terpineol (10.91%) and ledol (6.98%)
Fig. 1. PCA analysis with 11 common components of essential oils from different
aerial parts of four Salvia species.
1–2, S. miltiorrhiza leaves and flowers; 3–4, S. przewalskii leaves and flowers; 5–6,
S. officinalis leaves and flowers; 7–8, S. deserta leaves and flowers. PC1, the first
principal component; PC2, the second principal component.
were confirmed to be the principal components in the essential
oil of S. deserta flowers (Table 3).
3.3. Relationship among Salvia species based on the essential oil
composition
A principal component analysis (PCA) of 11 common com-
pounds in the essential oils of these Salvia species revealed that four
principal components with eigenvalues than 1 explained 91.1% of
the total variance (Table 4). The first principal component, which
mostly contributed by ␥-terpinene, 4-terpineol and manool posi-
tively, explained 30.78% of the total variance; PC1 clearly separated
Salvia species rich in ␥-terpinene from the sage plants that contain
high amounts of linalool. The second principal component posi-
tively correlated with caryophyllene oxide and hexahydrofarnesyl
acetone, but it negatively related to the content of ␣-terpineol; this
component explained 23.68% of the total variance (Table 4). PC2
could easily distinguish the leaves and flowers of the sage species
rich in caryophyllene oxide and ␣-terpineol, respectively.
PCA analysis based on these shared constituents also showed
that the chemical profiles of essential oils derived from the aerial
parts of S. miltiorrhiza, S. przewalskii flowers and the leaves of S.
deserta were similar (Fig. 1). However, the leaves of S. przewal-
skii and S. officinalis revealed a consistent chemotype based on the
composition of essential oils. The chemical composition of Salvia
essential oils depends on the tissue specificity and the genetic
diversity of the plants, which strongly influence and regulate the
 B. Li et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 69 (2015) 329–334 333

essential oil biosynthesis under identical growth conditions (Gil

et al., 2007; Lattoo et al., 2006). Furthermore, the essential oil com-
position of several Salvia species was similar, which was mostly
due to the close phylogenetic relationship among the Salvia genus
(Li et al., 2010). This result indicated the feasibility of applying the
characteristics of essential oils as the chemotaxonomic markers for
Salvia species classification.
A cluster analysis of all compounds in the sage oils by UPGMA
showed a distinct result from that of the PCA assay outlined above.
The essential oils derived from aerial parts of S. miltiorrhiza and S.
prezwalskill formed one group with coefficients of 0.83 and 0.72,
respectively, indicating the consistency of the chemical character-
istics of these Salvia oils (Fig. 2). The essential oil compositions of Fig. 2. Cluster analysis by UPGMA based on the composition of essential oils from
the aerial parts of S. officinalis and S. deserta flowers were similar. different aerial parts of four Salvia species.
However, the chemical profile of S. deserta leaf oil was unlike those SM-L and SM-F, S. miltiorrhiza leaves and flowers; SP-L and SP-F, S. przewalskii leaves
of the other sage oils, which was probably attributed to the tissue and flowers; SO-L and SO-F, S. officinalis leaves and flowers; SD-L and SD-F, S. deserta
leaves and flowers.
specificity and different chemotype of Salvia species.

3.4. Phenolic acids analyses
The phenolic acids extracted from various Salvia species have
shown remarkable pharmacological activities and promise as
industrial materials purposes (Generalic et al., 2012; Orhan et al.,
2012). Three phenolic acids derived from different aerial parts of
each selected Salvia species were detected by HPLC. The ferulic
acid content was remarkably higher in flowers than in leaves and
ranged from 1.9 ± 0.1 to 2.5 ± 0.2 mg/g dry weight (DW), whereas it
ranged from 0.2 ± 0.1 to 1.3 ± 0.1 mg/g DW in leaves. The ferulic acid
content was highest in S. przewalskii flowers and S. deserta leaves
compared to the respective aerial parts of other sages (Fig. 3a). Our
results confirmed that caffeic acid was abundant in the flowers
of Salvia plants and ranged between 2.6 ± 0.1 and 3.0 ± 0.2 mg/g
DW; however, the leaves of S. przewalskii and S. miltiorrhiza con-
tained the highest (1.9 ± 0.1 mg/g DW) and lowest (0.4 ± 0.04 mg/g

Fig. 3. Phenolic acid content in the leaves and flowers of selected Salvia species.
SM, S. miltiorrhiza; SP, S. przewalskii; SO, S. officinalis; SD, S. deserta. (a) Ferulic acid content of selected Salvia species. (b) Caffeic acid content of selected Salvia species. (c)
Rosmarinic acid content of selected Salvia species. Content of each phenolic acid from leaves and flowers of S. miltiorrhiza was a control in the present study. DW, dry weight;
* P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01.
334 B. Li et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 69 (2015) 329–334
DW) amounts of caffeic acid, respectively, compared to other sage
leaves (Fig. 3b). Rosmarinic acid, the main bioactive constituent
in Salvia species, was most abundant in S. przewalskii leaves at
64.1 ± 3.9 mg/g DW and in S. officinalis flowers at 53.4 ± 2.9 mg/g
DW (Fig. 3c). The wide distribution of selected phenolic acids in
three closely related Salvia species was confirmed to be highly con-
sistent with those in S. miltiorrhiza, which is an effective traditional
Chinese medicine in China (Cheng, 2007). Moreover, the contents
of phenolic acids in both the leaves and flowers of S. przewalskii
were higher than that of S. miltiorrhiza. This result indicated that
the leaves of S. przewalskii can be exploited as an excellent source
of phenolic acid, especially rosmarinic acid.
4. Conclusions
The GC–MS method was used to analyze the essential oils in this
study; the chemical composition of essential oils from four Salvia
species was notably different. The polymorphism of the chem-
ical composition of oils derived from the leaves and flowers of
these Salvia species indicated that this composition was tissue- and
organ-specific, which may be due to the genetic background diver-
sity of these Salvia species. The phenolic acid content of closely
related Salvia species was similar to that of S. miltiorrhiza, which
revealed a common biosynthetic pathway for phenolic acids in
the selected Salvia. Furthermore, S. przewalskii is a rich source of
rosmarinic acid.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to research fellow Yansheng Chen at
Northwest A&F University, Yangling, PR China for the plant identi-
fication. This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No.81373908) and Key Science and
Technology Project of Shaanxi Province, China (Grant No. 2012
KTCL 02–07).
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