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Sages are medicinal and aromatic plants that constitute a large pool from which active compounds of great pharmaceutical potential can be derived, while at the same time, they also have ornamental value. The purpose of this study was to develop the micropropagation protocols of Salvia fruticosa, S. officinalis, S. ringens, S. tomentosa, and S. pomifera ssp. pomifera to facilitate their exploitation in the pharmaceutical and floriculture industries. In vitro cultures of S. ringens and S. pomifera ssp. pomifera was studied for the first time. Shoot tips and single node explants from in vitro seedlings were initially cultured on hormone free (Hf)-MS medium, followed by subcultures on MS medium supplemented with 6-benzyladenine (BA) for all species, as well as with zeatin (ZEA), kinetin (KIN), 6-(γ,γ-dimethylallyamino) purine (2iP), or meta-topolin (mT) for S. fruticosa and S. officinalis, at concentrations 0.0 to 3.2 mg L⁻¹, in combination with 0.01 mg L⁻¹ 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). S. officinalis was the most efficient in shoot multiplication of all the studied species. The highest multiplication indices were found using 0.8 mg L⁻¹ BA for S. fruticosa, 0.4 mg L⁻¹ BA, or mT for S. officinalis, and lower than 0.8 mg L⁻¹ BA for the other three species. Hyperhydricity was a problem at the multiplication stage, and was most pronounced in single node explants, increasing in proportion to cytokinin concentration. Microshoots rooted at high percentages (75–85%) on half-strength MS medium with 0.0 or 0.5 mg L⁻¹ Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), except for those of S. ringens, which rooted best at 1.0–2.0 mg L⁻¹ IBA. Ex vitro acclimatization was highly successful (80–95%) on peat–perlite substrate (1:1 v/v). Thus, the present study resulted in efficient micropropagation protocols for five Mediterranean sage species native to Greece, which will facilitate breeding programs and the promotion of these species in the floriculture and pharmaceutical industries. Full article

Salvia fruticosa and S. pomifera subsp. calycina are native to Eastern Mediterranean and S. pomifera subsp. pomifera is endemic to Greece. The primary aim of this study was to develop an analytical methodology for metabolomic profiling and to study their efficacy in combating glycation, the major biochemical complication of diabetes. After sequential ultrasound-assisted extraction of 2 g of leaves with petroleum ether and 70% methanol, the volatile metabolites in the petroleum ether extracts were studied with GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry), whereas the polar metabolites in the hydroalcoholic extracts were determined and quantified by UHPLC-DAD–ESI-MS (Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Diode Array Detector–Mass Spectrometry). This methodology was applied to five populations belonging to the three native taxa. 1,8-Cineole was the predominant volatile (34.8–39.0%) in S. fruticosa, while S. pomifera had a greater content of α-thujone (19.7–41.0%) and β-thujone (6.0–39.1%). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) analysis of the volatiles could discriminate the different taxa. UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MS demonstrated the presence of 50 compounds, twenty of which were quantified. PCA revealed that not only the taxa but also the populations of S. pomifera subsp. pomifera could be differentiated. All Salvia samples inhibited advanced glycation end-product formation in a bovine serum albumin/2-deoxyribose assay; rosmarinic and carnosic acid shared this activity. This study demonstrates the antiglycation activity of S. fruticosa and S. pomifera extracts for the first time and presents a miniaturized methodology for their metabolomic profiling, which could aid chemotaxonomic studies and serve as a tool for their authentication and quality control. Full article

Native-to-Greece sage species, namely, Salvia fruticosa, S. officinalis, S. pomifera ssp. pomifera, S. ringens, S. tomentosa and interspecific hybrids, were evaluated for their acclimatization in an extensive Mediterranean green roof during summer under regular and reduced irrigation (every 2–3 days with substrate moisture 16–22% v/v and 4–5 days with substrate moisture 7–11% v/v, respectively). A substrate (grape-marc compost:perlite:pumice, 3:3:4, v/v) that was 10 cm deep was used. Regardless of the irrigation frequency, S. pomifera ssp. pomifera × S. ringens and S. officinalis × S. pomifera ssp. pomifera showed the highest survival of all hybrids and species, along with satisfactory growth, while S. fruticosa showed the lowest survival. Reduced irrigation resulted in the reduction of aboveground and root biomass, with no damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. S. fruticosa showed the highest (53%) aboveground biomass reduction and S. officinalis, S. officinalis × S. ringens and S. pomifera ssp. pomifera × S. ringens showed the lowest (28, 23 and 3%, respectively), while S. officinalis × S. pomifera ssp. pomifera and S. pomifera ssp. pomifera × S. ringens showed the lowest reduction in root biomass (13 and 16%, respectively). With a reservation for S. fruticosa, Greek Salvia spp. and their interspecific hybrids studied in the present work are recommended for sustainable exploitation in extensive green roofs in arid regions and generally in xeriscaping. Full article

Aiming to obtain Salvia hybrids with ornamental value and high drought resistance, for xeriscaping, crossbreeding was made with Greek Salvia species. S. fruticosa and S. officinalis when used as seed parent were successfully crossed with S. pomifera ssp. pomifera, S. ringens and S. tomentosa, while when used as pollen parent it only succeeded between S. fruticosa and S. tomentosa. The growth of S. fruticosa and the four hybrids, S. officinalis × S. pomifera, S. officinalis × S. tomentosa, S. officinalis × S. ringens and S. fruticosa × S. ringens, selected for their ornamental traits, was evaluated under limited irrigation and modification of the substrate with attapulgite clay. The hybrids S. officinalis × S. ringens and S. officinalis × S. tomentosa developed a compact plant shape and most lateral shoots, desirable characteristics for potted plants and xeriscaping. All hybrids, especially S. officinalis × S. pomifera and S. officinalis × S. tomentosa, survived water stress better than S. fruticosa. Modification of the substrate with attapulgite, under limited irrigation, caused a decrease in the above ground/root biomass ratio in some hybrids and in S. fruticosa increased the dry weight of the root indicating increased drought resistance. Full article

The phenolic compounds of methanolic extracts of Salvia pomifera and Salvia fruticosa were identified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Carnosic acid and its metabolite carnosol were the most abundant terpene phenolic compounds of S. fruticosa, while they were completely absent in S. pomifera. The main terpene phenolic constituent of S. pomifera was 12-O-methylcarnosic acid and its mass/mass fragmentation pathway was explained. The detailed mechanism of carnosic acid oxidation to carnosol was suggested. The effects of Salvia extracts and/or carnosic acid, the main diterpene phenolic component of S. fruticosa, on the proliferation and cell cycle of two melanoma cell lines (A375, Mel JuSo) and human fibroblast cell line (HFF) were investigated by MTT assay, PI-exclusion assay and flow cytometry cell cycle analysis. Extract of S. fruticosa more efficiently than S. pomifera extract reduced the proliferation of the human melanoma cells. Carnosic acid showed the most significant effect. The first evidence that carnosic acid affects microtubule dynamics and arrests the cell cycle in the G2/M phase was provided. Collectively, our results demonstrate that these two Salvia species are plants of medicinal interest with perspective for further investigation. Carnosic acid could be the compound responsible for the biological activities of S. fruticosa extracts. Full article