Ethnopharmacological and Chemical Characterization of Salvia Species Used in Valencian Traditional Herbal Preparations

Abstract

In Valencia Region (Spain), some wild and cultivated sages are used for medicinal purposes. Among them, Salvia officinalis subsp. lavandulifolia (SL) is widely employed and known for production of Spanish sage oil and herbal products. Nevertheless, it shares the market with S. blancoana subsp. mariolensis (SB) and, to a lesser extent, with their hybrid S. x hegelmaieri (SH). The knowledge on these two species is far low and confusion between them is possible. The aim of the present paper is to improve the ethnopharmacological, morphological and chemical knowledge of these sages, and to contribute to setting up quality specifications for improving identification and distinction from other Salvia species, such as, S. officinalis subsp. officinalis, S. x auriculata and S. microphylla var. microphylla. Samples were collected in Valencia Region and surrounding mountain areas during the ethnopharmacological field work. Twenty-nine medicinal uses were reported for SL, 13 of them being also recorded for SB. Of particular interest is a homemade liquor, used as digestive and known as “salvieta,” which is mainly prepared with SB. The macro- and microscopic characters are insufficient for identification of cut, crushed or powdered material. The study of the essential oil and a HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography) fingerprint of their extracts could help to distinguish SB from the other sages. The essential oil from dried aerial parts of SB (content: 1.8–4.5%) was characterized by GC-FID (Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry) showing a composition close to that currently accepted for Spanish sage essential oil in the European Pharmacopoeia, ISO (International Standard Organization) and UNE (Una Norma Española) standards, with 1,8-cineole (13.7–45.7%) and camphor (12.1–28.6%) as major constituents. HPTLC methods, based on the analysis of hydroalcoholic and dichloromethane extracts, allowed to distinguish SB from other Salvia taxa currently found in Valencia region, except from its hybrid SH. This interdisciplinary study, that combines popular knowledge with botany and chemistry, allows to identify the raw herbal material from SB and to distinguish it from other Salvia species, ensuring a proper commercialization as herbal teas or for the preparation of spirits.

Investigation of phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of some Salvia species commonly grown in Southwest Anatolia using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS

“…The traditional medical practices of the Salvia species have been studied all over the world (Martínez-Francés et al, 2017;Li et al, 2013). Ot is known that Salvia species have been used as infusions against simple diseases in Anatolian traditional medicine applications (Baytop, 1999).…”

Quality Variation of Goji (Fruits of Lycium spp.) in China: A Comparative Morphological and Metabolomic Analysis

“…In our study, we also include metabolomic profiling for quality assessment, which has not been used for goji yet. Chemometric approaches with chromatographic fingerprinting are known to be effective metabolomic methods for quality control of herbal medicine ( Donno et al, 2016a ; Guo et al, 2017 ; Liu et al, 2017 ; Martinez-Frances et al, 2017 ). Bioactivity-based characteristics are good quality indicators too, as they are pharmacologically relevant ( Walch et al, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2017 ).…”

Medicinal Plants in Traditional Herbal Wines and Liquors in the East of Spain and the Balearic Islands

“…Main differences in the type of homemade beverages taken into account in this study consist in the ingredients macerated (species and part of the plant) and the type of solvent used ( Table 3 ). For liquors, anise-flavored alcohol ( Martínez-Francés and Ríos, 2005 ; Martínez-Francés et al, 2012 ; Martínez-Francés et al, 2017 ) is usual. The alcoholic concentration of spirits has been noted and classified considering two categories: one between 20 and 35° and the other between 36 and 70°.…”

“…In the East of Spain, most of these homemade liquors are elaborated, macerating some wild or cultivated plants in anise-flavored alcohol ( Martínez-Francés and Ríos, 2005 ; Martínez-Francés et al, 2012 ; Martínez-Francés et al, 2015 ; Martínez-Francés et al, 2017 ). They are part of the traditional medicinal recipe repertory, inherited from the ancient complex formulas of herbal teas and medicinal wines ( Martínez-Francés et al, 2015 ).…”