Essential Oil Composition, Total Phenolic and Favonoid Contents, and Biological Activities ofSalvia aristataAucher ex Benth. Extracts

Chemical composition of the essential oil from the aerial parts of Salvia aristata Aucher ex. Benth. (Labiateae) was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Thirty seven constituents accounting to 96.5% of total oil were identified. The oil was rich in monoterpens and carvacrol (22.7%), 1,8-cineol (8.3%), α-pinene (6.7%) and β-caryophyllene (6.1%) were found as the main components. Antibacterial activity of chloroform extract of the plant was tested against 6 Gram (+/-) bacteria by disc diffusion method and significant effect was found against Escherichia coli. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents in various extracts of the plant material were evaluated by colorimetric methods and the best results were found for 50% hydro methanol extract with total phenolic (51.25±0.035 mg/L) and flavonoid contents (10.95±0.004 mg/L). The extracts were also subjected to screening for their possible anti-oxidant activity by using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and the free radical scavenging activity of 50%. Hydro methanol extract was better than the other extracts (IC =3.4 mg/mL). Significant correlation was found between radical scavenging activity and total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts.