Acta Pharm. 55 (2005) 321-326

Essential oil of the Persian sage, Salvia rhytidea Benth.

SEYED-EBRAHIM SAJJADI^1,2   and ALIREZA GHANNADI^2*

ghannadi@pharm.mui.ac.ir

¹Isfahan Pharmaceutical Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 81746-73461, Iran
²Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 81746-73461, Iran

Chemical composition of volatile compounds from Salvia rhytidea Benth. was analyzed, for the first time, by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The volatiles were isolated from dried aerial parts of the plant by hydro-distillation. A total yield of 2.0 mg of essential oil per g of plant dry mass was obtained and sixty compounds were identified, representing 98.2% of total volatiles. The essential oil was characterized by a high content of hydrocarbon and oxygenated monoterpenes. The main constituents were p-cymene-8-ol (11.9%), spathulenol (7.3%), pulegone (6.4%), sabinene (5.8%), terpinen-4-ol (5.5%) and alpha-copaene (5.3%).

Keywords: Salvia rhytidea (Lamiaceae), essential oil, p-cymene-8-ol, spathulenol, pulegone