Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils and Volatile Fractions from Flowers, Stems and Roots ofSalvia multicaulisVahl. by Using MAHD, SFME and HS-SPME Methods

The essential oils and volatiles obtained through a variety of techniques involving microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD), solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) from flowers, stems and roots of Salvia multicaulis Vahl., a plant growing wild in Semnan Province (Iran), were analyzed by the use of GC and GC-MS instruments. The main common components in all the oils were found to be α-pinene (1.4 to 43.2 %) and β-pinene (1.1 to 32.3 %). It was revealed that in all oils obtained by MAHD as well as those by SFME, except the root oil by SFME, monoterpenes were the most abundant constituents, while different volatile fractions were found in the profiles isolated by HS-SPME. In fact, volatile parts separated from flowers and stems of S. multicaulis by HS-SPME were characterized mainly by oxygenated monoterpenes, whereas the root part was highly composed of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons.