Determination of essential oil components, mineral matter, and heavy metal content of Salvia virgata Jacq. grown in culture conditions

Most members of the family Lamiaceae are of considerable importance in areas such as medicine, food, cosmetics, and perfumery, as they are rich in essential oils, aromatic oils, and secondary metabolites. Sage, a member of this family, is the generic name for species of the genus Salvia. The genus Salvia has approximately 900 species worldwide. There are 99 species of the genus Salvia L in Turkey; 51 of these species are endemic. The local name of S. virgata is "yilancik" or "fatmanaotu" in Turkey, and it is used for the treatment of wounds and various skin diseases. In addition, a decoction prepared by using aerial parts of this species is used to prevent blood cancer. In this study, essential oil composition and heavy metal and nutrient element contents (aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, chrome, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron, and sodium) of S. virgata grown in Yozgat, Turkey, under local ecological conditions were determined using standard analytical processes. The essential oil content in the aerial parts of S. virgata harvested during full flowering was 0.01% (w/w). The principal constituents of the essential oil were pentacosane (20.09%), caryophyllene oxide (6.90%), phytol (6.83%), spathulenol (6.09%), and nonacosane (5.15%). The highest macroand micromineral contents were Ca and K, and Fe and Na, respectively. The accumulated concentrations of the three metals found were lower than the maximum allowed for human consumption without health risks