Genetic Diversity of Salvia Species Assessed by ISSR and RAPD Markers

The genus Salvia includes an enormous assemblage of nearly 1,000 species dispersed around the world. Due to possible threats to this genus, there is an immediate requirement to evaluate the diversity of its wild populations. ISSR and RAPD molecular techniques were used to evaluate the genetic relationships among twenty-one ecotypes of eight Salvia species. Amplification of genomic DNA using 23 primers (15 RAPD and eight ISSR) produced 280 bands, of which 91% were polymorphic. The results of marker parameters showed no clear difference between two marker systems. It was generally observed that both ISSR and RAPD markers had similar efficiency in detecting genetic polymorphisms with remarkable ability to differentiate the closely related ecotypes of Salvia. Nei’s similarity coefficients for these techniques ranged from 0.48 to 0.98. Based on the results of clustering, PCoA and AMOVA, the genetic diversity between and within species was confirmed. So, conservation and domestication of the genus Salvia must be due to levels of genetic variations

Flavonoids from Salvia chloroleuca with α-Amylsae and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Effect

Abstract It is believed that the inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes including α-amylase and α-glucosidase is one of the therapeutic approaches to decrease the postprandial glucose level after a meal, especially in the people with type 2 diabetes. Medicinal plants and their extracts are one of the main sources to find new inhibitors to the enzymes. In our study four flavonoids, namely luteolin 7-O-glucoside (1), luteolin 7-O-glucuronide (2), diosmetin 7-O-glucuronide (3) and salvigenin (4) were isolated from aerial parts of Salvia chloroleuca. The inhibitory activity of these compounds against α-amylase and α-glucosidase were evaluated. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 showed potent α-glucosidase inhibitory effect with IC 50 values of 18.3, 14.7, and 17.1 µM, respectively. Also these compounds exhibited moderate α-amylase activity with IC 50 values 81.7, 61.5, and 76.3 µM, respectively

Antimicrobial Activity of Some Salvia Species Essential Oils from Iran

The aerial parts of Salvia multicaulis, S. sclarea and S. verticillata were collected at full flowering stage. The essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by combination of capillary GC and GC-MS. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oils were studied against eight Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumulis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and three fungi (Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus niger). The results of antibacterial activity tests of the essential oils according to the disc diffusion method and MIC values indicated that all the samples have moderate to high inhibitory activity against the tested bacteria except for P. aeruginosa which was totally resistant. In contrast to antibacterial activity, the oils exhibited no or slight antifungal property, in which only the oil of S. multicaulis showed weak activity against two tested yeasts, C. albicans and S. cerevisiae