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VOL. 76 (3), 343-356, 2010 CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF a-HUMELENE AND...

1. INTRODUCTION

The generus Salvia L. (sage) of the family Lamiaceae is an aromat-
ic and medicinal plant and includes about 900 species spread through-
out the world. Salvia officinalis L. (S. officinalis), with the common ara-
bic name sâlma, sâlmiya or swak en-nâbi, is a native to the
Mediterranean region that is now extensively cultivated all over the
world (1). This plant has been known and utilized for hundreds of years
in natural medicine, due to its curative properties and good perform-
ance in combating various diseases. Recent publications have shown
some interesting features of its chemical composition, which is deter-
mined by its volatile (2) and nonvolatile compounds, and its applica-
tions in antibacterial (3), anti-inflammatory (4), antifungal (5), antivi-
ral (6), antioxidant activities (7) and clinical treatment of Alzheimer’s
disease (8). Terpenoids and phenolics have been identified as the two
major typical products of S. officinalis secondary metabolites (9).
Among the terpenoids, volatile oils have been largely investigated (9,
10) because of their broad range of applications to culinary, cosmetic,
pharmaceutical, and industrial fields. The essential oil composition of
Salvia species is highly influenced by genetic and environmental fac-
tors, climate conditions (11), season, and culture site (10, 12). The
strongest active constituents of sage are within its essential oil (1-2.8%),
comprising the monoterpenes a- and ß-thujone, camphor, 1,8-cineole,
and borneol as well as the sesquiterpenes a-humulene and ß-caryophyl-
lene in larger amounts; whereas the leaf contains di- and triterpenes,
as well (13). The compounds of the essential oils were divided into five
groups according to the amount of the major constituents (13):

1. camphor > a-thujone >1,8-cineole > ß-thujone ((14) and our
essential oil).

2. camphor > a-thujone > ß-thujone > 1,8-cineole (15).

3. ß-thujone > camphor > 1,8-cineole > a-thujone.

4. 1,8-cineole > camphor > a-thujone > ß-thujone.

5. a-thujone > camphor > ß-thujone > 1,8-cineole.

Moreover, many studies have reported antitumor activities of
Salvia species, especially for S. miltiorrhiza, and S. officinalis under in
vitro conditions (16, 17). In addition, S. officinalis has also a poten-

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