Anuradha Negi, Mohammad S. Javed and Anand B. Melkani,* Vasu Dev and Philip S. Beauchamp

Abstract: The essential oil from the aerial parts of Salvia leucantha Cav. (Lamiaceae) was analyzed by GC, GC/MS and NMR spectroscopy. The oil was found rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons; β-caryophyllene (13.9%), α-guaiene (12.6%), cis-muurola-3,5-diene (10.8%), germacrene D (13.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (8.7%). Bornyl acetate constituted 23.9% of the oil. This is the first detailed report on the essential oil composition based on capillary GC and GC/MS analyses.

Salvia leucantha Cav. (Lamiaceae) has a wide distribution and is a common garden plant. Seven species of Salvia are reported to grow in the central Himalayan region of India (1) and have not been thoroughly investigated for their steam volatile components. A literature review could reveal a few reports on Salvia leucantha. The first two reports on the steam volatile components show the presence of 1,8-cineole (7.6–0.0%), pcymene (4.0–7.2%), thujone (5.4–7.0%), linalool (9.0–10.0%), geranyl acetate (4.8–6.0%), citral (19.0–25.0%), citronellal (2.0%), citronellol (9.6–12.0%), geraniol (12.0–13.0%), cedrene (6.2%) and aromadendrene (6.0%) in the oil (2,3). The other three reports show the isolation and identification of salvigenane and isosalvipuberulan diterpenoids from an acetone extract (4) and triterpenes (5,6) from a chloroform extract of its aerial parts. Our preliminary examination of the essential oil of Salvia leucantha indicated its composition to be significantly different from that reported earlier (2,3). We have carried out a detailed analysis of the oil, which forms the basis of the present communication.