Potential therapeutic applications of infusions and hydroalcoholic extracts of Romanian glutinous sage (Salvia glutinosa L.)

Association of enzymatic and optimized ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction of flavonoid glycosides from dried Hippophae rhamnoides L. (Sea Buckthorn) berries

The main purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of associating an optimized ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) protocol with enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) in aqueous media, using the dried berries of Hippophae rhamnoides L. (sea buckthorn) as plant material. A specialized software was used for the determination of potential optimal extraction parameters, leading to the development of four optimized extracts with different characteristics (UAE ± EAE). For these extracts, buffered or non-buffered solutions have been used, with the aim to determine the influence of adjustable pH on extractability. As enzymatic solution, a pectinase, cellulase, and hemicellulase mix (2:1:1) has been applied, acting as pre-treatment for the optimized protocol. The highest extractive yields have been identified for non-buffered extracts, and the E-UAE combination obtained extracts with the highest overall in vitro antioxidant activity. The HPLC-MSn analysis demonstrated a rich composition in different types of isorhamnetin-O-glycosides, as well as some quercetin-O-glycosides, showing a high recovery of specific flavonol-type polyphenolic species. Moreover, we have tentatively identified two flavanols (i.e., catechin and epigallocatechin) and one flavone derivative (i.e., luteolin).

An Update on Recent Studies Focusing on the Antioxidant Properties of Salvia Species

Nutrition has crucial effects and a significant role in disease prevention. Recently, nutraceuticals have attracted much attention in scientific research due to their pleiotropic effects and relatively non-toxic behavior. Among the biological effects displayed by plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family, such as antibacterial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anticholinesterase, sage is well known for its antioxidant properties and is a rich source of numerous compounds that are biologically active, amongst them polyphenols, with more than 160 types identified. In this review we summarized some of the significant studies published in the last decade reporting the most employed extraction methods and the different assays that are useful for establishing the antioxidant properties of some sage species. Even though the scientific literature contains plenty of data regarding the antioxidant properties of many sage species, further studies are needed in order to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanism of action and the compounds responsible for their antioxidant activity. Finally, it should be taken into account that the data on the antioxidant properties of sage extracts are often difficult to compare with each other, since a series of variables in the extraction procedures, the type of assay used, and standardization may affect the final result.

Cytotoxic diterpenoids from Salvia glutinosa and comparison with the tanshinone profile of danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)

The roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza are the source of the traditional Chinese medicine danshen and the class of tanshinones, particular quinoid nor-diterpenoids of the abietane type. Of these compounds, cryptotanshinone, dihydrotanshinone I, tanshinone I, and tanshinone IIA, have been extensively studied for their anticancer potential, not only but as well because of their high abundance in S. miltiorrhiza and their thus easy availability. However, also additional Salvia species are known to contain tanshinones, mainly such of the subgenus Glutinaria, of which S. glutinosa is the only species widely occurring in Europe. Using UHPLC-DAD-MS, the tanshinone profile of S. glutinosa roots collected from two different locations was compared to the profile in S. miltiorrhiza roots. In addition, tanshinone IIA and another six diterpenoids from S. glutinosa were investigated for their antiproliferative and cytotoxic potential against MDA-MB-231 and HL-60 cells. Apart from dihydrotanshinone I, which has been previously characterized due to its anticancer properties, we determined danshenol A as a highly antiproliferative and cytotoxic agent, significantly surpassing the effects of dihydrotanshinone I. With regard to the diterpenoid profile, S. miltiorrhiza showed a higher concentration for most of the tanshinones, except for (+)-danshexinkun A, which was present in comparable amounts in both species. Danshenol A, in contrast, was only present in S. glutinosa as were dehydroabietic acid and (+)-pisiferic acid. The results of our study underlines the long traditional use of danshen due to its high amount on tanshinones, but also demonstrates the potential value of investigating closely related species for the discovery of new biologically active lead compounds.

Chemical Profile and Bioactivity Evaluation of Salvia Species from Eastern Europe

The Salvia genus comprises about 1000 species endowed with medicinal, aromatic, cosmetic, and ornamental applications. Even though the genus is one of the most-studied taxa of the Lamiaceae family, data on the chemical composition and biological properties of certain locally used Salvia species are still scarce. The present work aimed to evaluate the phytochemical profile and antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic potential of ten Salvia species that grow in Eastern Europe (e.g., the Republic of Moldova). LC-HRMS/MS metabolite profiling allowed for the annotation of 15 phenolic and organic acids, 18 flavonoids, 19 diterpenes, 5 sesterpenes, and 2 triterpenes. Multivariate analysis (e.g., principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis) revealed that S. austriaca, S. nutans, and S. officinalis formed individual clusters, whereas the remaining species had a similar composition. S. officinalis showed the highest activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae (MIC = 0.625 mg/mL). As evaluated in DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays, S. officinalis was one of the most potent radical scavenging and metal-reducing agents (CE50 values of 25.33, 8.13, and 21.01 μg/mL, respectively), followed by S. verticillata, S. sclarea, S. kopetdaghensis, S. aethiopis, and S. tesquicola. Pearson correlation analysis revealed strong correlations with rosmarinic acid, luteolin-O-glucuronide, and hydroxybenzoic acid. When the cytotoxic activity was evaluated in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, no significant reduction in cell viability was observed over the concentrations ranging from 25 and 100 μg/mL. The results confirm the potential use of understudied Salvia species as promising sources of antioxidant compounds for developing novel pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, or cosmeceutical products.