Comparative study of the essential oil composition of Salvia urmiensis and its enzyme inhibitory activities linked to diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer’s disease

ABSTRACT

The genus Salvia has economic importance due to its broad uses in traditional medicine, perfume, food, and pharmaceutical industries. In the present work, various extracts and essential oils of Salvia urmiensis Bunge., were screened for their inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, the enzymes linked to neurodegeneration, and against α-amylase and α-glucosidase (involved in diabetes mellitus; DM). Chemical compositions of the essential oils of leaves and flowers of the plant were also determined. The tested samples exhibited moderate to high anti-diabetic potential (IC₅₀ = 8–145 µg/mL) and moderate anticholinesterase activity (IC₅₀ = 44–892 µg/mL). Essential oil of leaves was rich in ester compounds such as ethyl linoleate (19%), methyl hexadecanoate (17%), and methyl linoleate (7.5%). The major compound of essential oil of flowers was 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (55.7%). This is the first report on the enzyme inhibitory activity of S. urmiensis and also the chemical composition of its leaves and flowers in essential oils. The results indicated that S. urmiensis could be considered a valuable source for functional foods and pharmaceuticals.

KEYWORDS:

• Salvia
• Essential oil
• Neuroprotection
• Enzyme inhibition
• Diabetes mellitus
• Alzheimer’s disease

Acknowledgments

Financial support by the Shahid Beheshti University Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.