Vitamin contents of some Salvia L. Taxa growing in Turkey

Therapeutic benefits of Salvia species: A focus on cancer and viral infection

Man is increasingly being faced with many health conditions, including viral infection, some of which increases the risk to cancer. These infectious agents contribute to the large number of persons with cancer and the worrisome number that die from the diseases. A good range of drugs are currently in place for treating patients infected with viruses, however, some of the drugs' effectiveness are limited by the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the viruses, as well as adverse effects of the drugs. Similarly, the inability of many anticancer drugs to selectively kill cancer cells while sparing hosts' normal cells limit their use. This warrants more research for newer drugs, especially from chemicals naturally encrypted in plants with anticancer and antiviral activities. In response to infection with cancer-inducing viruses, plants such as Salvia species synthesize and store secondary metabolites to protect themselves and kill these viruses as well as inhibit their ability to induce carcinogenesis. Hence, this review presented a discussion on the potential application of Salvia species in the prevention and management of cancer and viral infection. The study also discusses the cellular mechanisms of action of these herbal products against cancer cells and viruses, where available and provided suggestions on future research directions. The study is believed to spur more research on how to exploit Salvia phytochemicals as candidates for the development of nutraceuticals and drugs for managing cancers and viral infection.

Biochemical parameters and antioxidant property of three Salvia L. taxa endemic in Turkey

The aim of the present study was to determine and compare the fatty acids, lipid soluble vitamins, sterols, phenolics, and antioxidant capacities of three endemic Salvia L. taxa (S. euphratica var. Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham leiocalycina (Rech. Fil.) Hedge, S. euphratica var. Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham euphratica (Rech. Fil.) Hedge and S. pseudoeuphratica Rech.Fil.) and to evaluate these results systematically. The fatty acid compositions were determined by using gas chromatography, while the lipid soluble vitamins, sterols, and phenolics were determined by using HPLC. Also, the antioxidant capacities of three Salvia taxa were measured in vitro. Palmitic acid was found as major saturated fatty acid while oleic acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, and erucic acid were found as major unsaturated fatty acids in the present study. It was found that S. euphratica var. euphratica had lower palmitic acid (8.94 ± 0.71%), total saturated fatty acid (19.16 ± 0.15%), and higher unsaturated fatty acid content (82.08 ± 0.52%) than other studied taxa. Furthermore, it was shown that S. euphratica var. euphratica had different 18.3/18:2 (0.36) unsaturated/saturated fatty acid (4.28) ratios. However, this study demonstrated that Salvia taxa had low lipid soluble vitamins, sterol contents. On the other hand, it was shown that Salvia taxa had similar catechin (509.2 ± 4.21 µg/g and 552.2 ± 9.21 µg/g) and vanillic acid amounts (351.2 ± 2.17 µg/g and 396.8 ± 4.1 µg/g) in this study. And also, it was found that Salvia taxa had high rosmarinic acid content while S. euphratica var. leiocalycina had the highest rosmarinic acid content (1480 ± 7.57 µg/g). On the other hand, it was shown that the two ferulic acid contents of S. euphratica varieties were higher (1175 ±/5.21 µgmg-1740.2 ± 4.82 µg/mg) than the ferulic acid content of S. pseudoeuphratica of which was the lowest (19.2 ± 0.97 µg/mg). The present results suggested that the biochemical results guided the morphological studies, and Salvia taxa have a potent antioxidant capacity.