Fatty Acid Composition of Seed Oil from Salvia coccinea Grown in Cuba

Abstract

Studies on the distribution of fatty acids of seed oils have been mainly driven by pharmacological and taxonomic interests. The Salvia coccinea L. specie, known as banderilla, is cultivated in Cuba as ornamental plant. Nevertheless, some traditional medical uses have been reported in other countries without reports of pharmacological studies. On the other hand, there is no any report on the fatty acid composition of seed oil of this specie. Fatty acids from the seed oil of this specie growing in Cuba were extracted with hexane and were analyzed by GC and GC-MS as methyl ester derivatives after a transmethylation reaction. The main fatty acids found were linolenic acid (18:3; 33.1 %), linoleic acid (18:2; 25.2 %), oleic acid (18:1; 13.3 %), and stearic acid (18:0; 12.5 %), while other fatty acids were found in minor proportions. This is the first report about the seed oil of this specie, which is a contribution to its chemical composition.