Sage, Salvia officinalis L., Constituents, Hepatoprotective Activity, and Cytotoxicity Evaluations of the Essential Oils Obtained from Fresh and Differently Timed Dried Herbs: A Comparative Analysis.

Hamdoon A Mohammed,Adel M Ahmad,Mohamed S A Aly,Hussein M Eldeeb,Salman A A Mohammed,Mohammed S M Sajid,Ahmed A H Abdellatif,Riaz A Khan,Safaa Yehia Eid,Mohsen S Al-Omar,Mahmoud Zaki El-Readi

doi:10.3390/molecules26195757

Abstract

Sage, Salvia officinalis L., is used worldwide as an aromatic herb for culinary purposes as well as a traditional medicinal agent for various ailments. Current investigations exhibited the effects of extended dryings of the herb on the yields, composition, oil quality, and hepatoprotective as well as anti-cancer biological activities of the hydrodistillation-obtained essential oils from the aerial parts of the plant. The essential oils’ yields, compositions, and biological activities levels of the fresh and differently timed and room-temperature dried herbs differed significantly. The lowest yields of the essential oil were obtained from the fresh herbs (FH, 631 mg, 0.16%), while the highest yield was obtained from the two-week dried herbs (2WDH, 1102 mg, 0.28%). A notable decrease in monoterpenes, with increment in the sesquiterpene constituents, was observed for the FH-based essential oil as compared to all the other batches of the essential oils obtained from the different-timed dried herbs. Additionally, characteristic chemotypic constituents of sage, i.e., α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, 1, 8-cineole, α-thujone, and camphor, were present in significantly higher proportions in all the dried herbs’ essential oils as compared to the FH-based essential oil. The in vivo hepatoprotective activity demonstrated significant reductions in the levels of AST, ALT, and ALP, as well as a significant increase in the total protein (p < 0.05) contents level, as compared to the acetaminophen (AAP) administered experimental group of rats. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the ALT level was demonstrated by the 4WDH-based essential oil in comparison to the FH-based essential oil. The levels of creatinine, cholesterol, and triglycerides were reduced (p < 0.05) in the pre-treated rats by the essential oil batches, with non-significant differences found among them as a result of the herbs dryings based oils. A notable increase in the viability of the cells, and total antioxidant capacity (TAOxC) levels, together with the reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were observed by the essential oils obtained from all the batches as compared with the AAP-treated cell-lines, HepG-2, HeLa, and MCF-7, that indicated the in vitro hepatoprotective effects of the sage essential oils. However, significant improvements in the in vivo and in vitro hepatoprotective activities with the 4WDH-based oil, as compared to all other essential oil-batches and silymarin standard demonstrated the beneficial effects of the drying protocol for the herb for its medicinal purposes.

Highlights

Sage, salvia, or Salvia officinalis L., the plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae, is a perennial aromatic herb cultivated worldwide for its medicinal, culinary, and flavor properties
The current study was designed to evaluate the effects of extended dryings on the sage essential oil yields, compositions, and biological activities, wherein the herbs’ aerial parts were utilized to obtain the essential oils by the hydrodistillation process
From the viewpoint of essential oils production, the overall results in Table 1 show higher essential oil yields through the hydrodistillation method from the dried aerial parts of the herbs batches than that obtained from the fresh herb

Summary

Introduction

Salvia, or Salvia officinalis L., the plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae, is a perennial aromatic herb cultivated worldwide for its medicinal, culinary, and flavor properties. The sage, as a culinary and medicinal herb, is popular worldwide and considered an economically important commodity for use in the apothecary and spices business. The herb is worldwide available and is used in food preparations and as an essential part of the tea mixture of the Mediterranean countries [1]. The folk-medicinal and traditional usage of sage is global in nature, and the Latin name of the plant “Salvia” means curative, which is indicative of the health-giving properties, and importance of this plant [2]. The plant leaves are frequently used in the food industry due to their flavor and antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties [6]. The plant is part of the perfumery and cosmetic industries [2]

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Conclusion