Chemical and biological evaluation of five endemic Salvia species: Rich source of rosmarinic, caffeic, fumaric and malic acids

Medicinal plants have been used to treat many diseases since ancient times, and treatment with herbs is becoming more and more preferred in society due to their synergistic effects and the serious side effects of synthetic drugs. In this study, the phenolic contents of 5 endemic species (Salvia cerino-pruinosa var. elazigensis, S. cerino-pruinosa var. cerino-pruinosa, S. rosifolia, S. pseudeuphratica and S. kurdica) belonging to the genus Salvia, which are widely used among the public, were determined by LC-MS/MS and their antioxidant, cytotoxic, anti-Alzheimer, urease, tyrosinase, elastase and collegenase activities were investigated. Petroleum ether extracts prepared from mixed parts of the species were found to be the poorest in terms of phenolic content, while ethanol extracts were the richest. Therefore, as the polarity of the solvent increased during the preparation of the sample extracts, it was observed that the extracts became richer in terms of phenolic component diversity. In general, all ethanol extracts were found to be rich in rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, fumaric acid and malic acid. Especially S. cerino-pruinosa var. elazigensis was found to be richer in terms of component diversity and amounts compared to other species. Especially the rosmarinic acid (34638.45 µg analyte/g extract) content of the leaf part of this species is remarkable. In general, antioxidant activities of all species were found to be high or moderate, while enzyme activities were low. This is the first detailed study in the literature on the chemical contents and biological activities of extracts of various parts of 5 endemic species prepared using different solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol). The ethanol extract of the leaf of S. cerino-pruinosa var. elazigensis has high total phenolic, rosmarinic acid content and antioxidant potential and the cytotoxic activity of S. rosifolia has potential for use in food supplement, food preservative and pharmaceutical industries.