Phytochemical Composition and Bioactive Effects of Salvia africana, Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’ and Salvia mexicana Aqueous Extracts

In the present study, aqueous extracts of <i>Salvia africana</i>, <i>Salvia officinalis 'Icterina'</i> and <i>Savia mexicana</i> origin were screened for their phenolic composition and for antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties. The three aqueous extracts contained distinct phenolic compounds, with <i>S. africana</i> presenting the highest total levels (231.6 ± 7.5 μg/mg). Rosmarinic acid was the dominant phenolic compound in all extracts, yet that of <i>S. africana</i> origin was characterized by the present of yunnaneic acid isomers, which overall accounted for about 40% of total phenolics. In turn, <i>S. officinalis 'Icterina'</i> extract presented glycosidic forms of apigenin, luteolin and scuttelarein, and the one obtained from <i>S. mexicana</i> contained several simple caffeic acid derivatives. <i>S. africana</i> aqueous extract exhibited high antioxidant potential in four methods, namely the DPPH^• (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging ability, iron-reducing power, inhibition of β-carotene bleaching and of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), for which EC₅₀ values were equal or only 1.3-3.1 higher than those of the standard compounds. Moreover, this extract was able to lower the levels of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages (EC₅₀ = 47.8 ± 2.1 μg/mL). In addition, the three sage aqueous extracts showed promising cytotoxic effect towards hepatocellular HepG2, cervical HeLa, and breast carcinoma cells MCF-7. Overall this study highlights the potential of three little-exploited <i>Salvia</i> species, with commercial value for applications in food or pharmaceutical industries.