C14273 Essential Oils and Chemical Diversity of Southeast European Populations of Salvia officinalis L. by Ivana Cvetkovikj* a ), Gjoshe Stefkov a ), Marija Karapandzova a ), Svetlana Kulevanova a ), and Zlatko Satovic ´ b ) a )University Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Faculty of Pharmacy, Majka Tereza 47, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (phone: þ 389-2-3126 032; þ 389-75-249478; e-mail: ivanacvetkovikj@ff.ukim.edu.mk; ivanacvetkovikj@gmail.com) b ) University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Svetosimunska 25, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia The essential oils of 25 populations of Dalmatian sage ( Salvia officinalis L.) from nine Balkan countries, including 17 indigenous populations (representing almost the entire native distribution area) and eight non-indigenous (cultivated or naturalized) populations were analyzed. Their essential-oil yield ranged from 0.25 to 3.48%. Within the total of 80 detected compounds, ten (b-pinene, 1,8-cineole, cis- thujone, trans-thujone, camphor, borneol, trans-caryophyllene, a-humulene, viridiflorol, and manool) represented 42.60 to 85.70% of the components in the analyzed essential oils. Strong positive correlations were observed between the contents of trans-caryophyllene and a-humulene, a-humulene and viridiflorol, and viridiflorol and manool. Principal component analysis (PCA) on the basis of the contents of the ten main compounds showed that four principal components had an eigenvalue greater than 1 and explained 79.87% of the total variation. Performing cluster analysis (CA), the sage populations could be grouped into four distinct chemotypes (A – D) . The essential oils of 14 out of the 25 populations of Dalmatian sage belonged to Chemotype A and were rich in cis-thujone and camphor, with low contents of trans-thujone. The correlation between the essential-oil composition and geographic variables of the indigenous populations was not significant; hence, the similarities in the essential-oil profile among populations could not be explained by the physical proximity of the populations. Additionally, the southeastern populations tended to have higher EO yields than the northwestern ones. Introduction. – Salvia officinalis L. (Dalmatian sage, common sage, or garden sage), belonging to the family Lamiaceae, is an evergreen perennial shrub, with the center of its native distribution in Southeast European countries (Balkan). Dalmatian sage is cultivated in temperate regions all around the world [1]. Moreover, Dalmatian sage plants that have escaped from earlier cultivation may form naturalized populations [2]. The dried leaves and essential oils of Dalmatian sage are commonly used in the Mediterranean diet as flavoring agent for certain foods and beverages [3]. In form of herbal tea, liquid extract, or tincture, it has been used to heal different diseases [4] . The predominant medicinally valuable metabolites identified were monoterpenes (e.g., a  and b thujone, 1,8-cineole, and camphor), which were mostly present in the distilled oil and used externally to cure inflammations, infections such as stomatitis, gingivitis, and pharyngitis, and as antimicrobial agents. On the other hand, diterpenes (e.g., carnosic acid) and triterpenes (oleanolic and ursolic acids) have shown potent HIV-1 RT- inhibitory function, while phenolic compounds like rosmarinic acid, identified in the CHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY – Vol. 12 (2015) 1 CB CHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG Druck: K. Triltsch, Print und digitale Medien GmbH, D-97199 Ochsenfurt-Hohestadt Number of reprints? Ex. & with & without covers # 2015 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich