Nine-dimensional bioprofiles of Tunisian sages ( Salvia officinalis, S. aegyptiaca and S. verbenaca) by high-performance thin-layer chromatography - effect-directed analyses

Ethyl acetate extracts of Tunisian Salvia aegyptiaca and S. verbenaca aerial parts and S. officinalis leaves were examined via bioanalytical profiling using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) combined with nine bioactivity assays, namely antibacterial (Aliivibrio fischeri, Bacillus subtilis, and Rhodococcus fascians), antifungal (Bipolaris sorokiniana, and Fusarium avenaceum), radical scavenging (DPPH center dot), and enzyme inhibitory (alpha-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase, and lipase) ones. The screening, us-ing toluene -ethyl acetate - methanol 6:3:0.5 (V/V/V) as a mobile phase, revealed five bioactive zones (a-e) that were analyzed by HPTLC-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Zones b and c , observed exclusively in S. officinalis, were active in all assays except alpha-glucosidase, and only c inhib-ited F. avenaceum. Compounds in these zones were identified by HPLC-high resolution tandem MS (LC-HRMS/MS) as rosmanol/epi-rosmanol and methyl carnosate, respectively. In the bioactive zones a and e , corosolic/maslinic acid and ursolic/oleanolic acid isomer pairs were present, which could be identified in all three Salvia species after their HPTLC separation using pre-chromatographic derivatization with iodine and MS detection. The triterpenes inhibited B. subtilis and R. fascians bacteria and alpha-glucosidase enzyme. Linoleic and linolenic acids were detected in zone d , which showed strong lipase inhibition in all three sage species.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

Bioanalytical profiling of ethyl acetate extracts from Salvia aegyptiaca, S. verbenaca, and S. officinalis showed the presence of five bioactive zones. The compounds present in these zones exhibited antibacterial, antifungal, radical scavenging, and enzyme inhibitory activities. Triterpenes, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid were identified as the bioactive compounds in these extracts.