The pharmacological properties of salvia essential oils.

Salvia essential oils isolated by hydrodistillation from the plant’s commercial dried aerial parts(Fig.1)，have powerful biological activity and pharmacological properties. The oils contain more than 100 different bioactive compounds, which mainly include Monoterpene hydrocarbons, Oxygenated monoterpenes, Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, Diterpenes, Not iso-prenoid compounds and Oxygenated sesquiterpenes. It has a number of pharmacological effects including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-cholinesterase, improvement of cognitive performance and mood, reducing work-related stress, anti-mutagenic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, choleretic activities and so on. The present review focuses on the pharmacological activities of Salvia essential oils.