Terpenoids, essential oil composition and fatty acids profile, and biological activities of Anatolian Salvia fruticosa Mill.

The hexane and dichloromethane extracts, obtained by re-extraction of the methanol extract of Salvia fruticosa Mill., afforded 7 diterpenoids (carnosol, carnosic acid, carnosic acid 12-methyl ether, rosmadial, isorosmanol, ferruginol, and manool), 4 triterpenoids (alpha-amyryltetracosanoate, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, and erythrodiol), a steroid (3-acetylsitosterol), and a flavone (salvigenin). The galls (apples) of the collected plant were separately extracted with hexane to afford fatty acids composed mainly of oleic acid (29%), palmitoleic acid (29%), and stearic acid (23.20%), which exhibited high anticholinesterase activity, particularly against BChE. The essential oil, obtained from the aerial parts of the plant, exhibited high AChE inhibitory activity, consisting of mainly 1,8-cineol (58.89%). The antioxidant activity according to 6 complementary tests and anticholinesterase potential of the methanol extracts and triterpenoids alpha-amyryltetracosanoate, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, and sitosterol acetate were also investigated, and methanol extract exhibited the highest antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity, surpassing the other tested extracts and pure compounds.