Characterization of essential oils of some Salvia species and their antimycobacterial activities

The compositions of the essential oils of 5 Turkish Salvia species, namely Salvia aucheri Bentham var. aucheri (endemic for Turkey), Salvia aramiensis Rech. fil., Salvia fruticosa Mill., Salvia tomentosa Mill., and Salvia verticillata L. subsp. amasiaca (Freyn & Bornm.) Bornm., were studied. Water distilled essential oils from the aerial parts of Salvia species from Turkey were analysed by GC and GC/MS. Salvia aucheri var. aucheri, Salvia aramiensis, and Salvia fruticosa oils have the same main constituent: 1,8-cineole (39.2%, 55.6%, and 52.8% respectively). a-Pinene (25.1%), camphor (14.9%), and borneol (13.2%) were identified as the major components of Salvia tomentosa. The main constituents, beta-pinene (21.4%) and 1,8-cineole (16.1%), were also the major constituents in the oil of Salvia verticillata subsp. amasiaca. S. verticillata subsp. amasiaca, S. aucheri subsp. Aucheri, and S. tomentosa showed activity (MIC 196 mu g/mL), while S. aramiensis and S. fruticosa did not. This is the first study of the antimycobacterial activity of these 5 plants.