Eastern Europe (Dalmatia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro) is one of the main producers of Salvia officinalis L. These oils are yellowish or greenish-yellow possessing a warm camphoraceous, thujone-like odours and a high antimicrobial activity, They are used in the flavour industry and in perfumery. For this reason, other varieties from various countries have also been commercialized.
The chemical composition of the sage oils from various geographic origins have been studied since 1970 by a combination of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. They are characterized by high α-thujone (28-40%), camphor (12-35%), and 1,8-cineole + cis-β-ocimene (9.3-13.2%) contents.
The high content in 1,8-cineole (23-54%) is a characteristic of Salvia lavandulaefolia Vahl oils (or Spanish sage oils) which are colorless to slightly yellow and possess a camphoraceous and cineole-like odours.
