POTENT ANTIOXIDANT AND ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE INHIBITION ACTIVITIES OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF SALVIA LIBANOTICA GROWN IN LEBANON

Wassim El Basset*, Hussein Kanaan, Sahar Azar, Layal AlHajjar, Marianne Haddad

ABSTRACT

Salvia libanotica is an endemic plant of the Mediterranean region widely used in Lebanon as a traditional remedy. The purpose of this study was to extract the EO from the leaves of Salvia libanotica growing in four random Lebanese sites via hydrodistillation, to determine the effect of the region on EO’s yield as well as on the chemical composition studied by Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry analysis and to examine its antioxidant and anti-Alzheimer effects via DPPH and Ellman’s methods respectively. Results showed that the EO yield varied between 0.22-1.2% according to region, and the chemical composition revealed a total of 22 compounds in all leaves’ oil extracts with a difference in the relative abundance of some components. Moreover, the EO showed a significant antioxidant and AChE inhibitory activities reaching a maximum of 92.88% and 71.24% respectively. This supports the plant’s use as preventive remedy against oxidative stress and Alzheimer’s disease.

Keywords: Salvia libanotica, Essential Oil, Chemical composition, Antioxidant, Anticholinesterase.