Antioxidant Phenolic Compounds in Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia sclarea L.

The differences in the chemical composition of the phenolic compounds of Salvia officinalis versus Salvia sclarea growing in different habitats, were studied. First, the optimal solvent - methanol - for ultrasonic extraction of phenolic compounds from these plants was chosen experimentally. Total phenolic content and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays were determined spectrophotometrically. Total phenolic content was in the range of 63.9 to 134.4 mg GAE/g of plant depending on the studied species. The highest antiradical activity was displayed by the methanol fractions of S. sclarea varieties (83 and 67%). HPLC-DAD analysis of extracts was done in order to identify the presence of individual phenolic compounds. This was done by comparison of their retention times with those observed for 17 commercially available standard compounds. The results showed differences in the phenolics composition, with plants collected on Crimean peninsula accumulating more phenolic acids than Polish varieties. In turn, the Polish varieties of sage contain bigger amount of flavonoids in their tissues.