Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Content in Different Salvia officinalis L. Extracts Ana-Viorica POP (CUCEU) 1 , Maria TOFANĂ 1 *, Sonia A. SOCACI 1 , Dan VÂRBAN 2 , Melinda NAGY 1 , Maria- Doiniţa BORŞ 1 , Susana SFECHIŞ 3 1 Department of Food Science, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj- Napoca, Romania 2 Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Romania 3 Department of Crop Plants, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj- Napoca, Romania *Corresponding author, e-mail: maria.tofana@usamvcluj.ro Bulletin UASVM Food Science and Technology 72(2) / 2015 ISSN-L 2344-2344; Print ISSN 2344-2344; Electronic ISSN 2344-5300 DOI: 10.15835/buasvmcn-fst:11582 ABSTRACT The use of medicinal plants to improve health is an ancient practice and in recent years it has been observed an increasing interest of scientific researchers for the study of plants with biological properties and active principles responsible for their therapeutic effects. Salvia officinalis L. is considered the queen of herbs and belongs to the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family. Due to the increasing interest in plants health benefits, the aim of the present study was to characterize various extracts of Romanian sage regarding their content in compounds with antioxidant activity. Three different techniques and five solvents were used for extraction of bioactive compounds from Salvia officinalis L. The total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of plant extract were determined by Folin- Ciocalteu method and respectively by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Methanolic extract exhibited the highest content in phenolic compound (1974.89 mg GAE/100g dw) as well ass the strongest antioxidant capacity (85.12%). Keywords: antioxidant capacity, extraction, phenolic content, Salvia officinalis. INTRODUCTION Plenty of aromatic, medicinal and other herbs which contain biological active compounds are widely used in food and cosmetic industries, drug production, or as precursors in the synthesis of new products with specific bioactive properties. Spices and their alcoholic extracts belong to the most studied vegetal species because of their high antioxidant activity. In recent years, spice extracts have appeared on the market as antioxidants for food industry use (Pizzale et al., 2002). Total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of herbal extracts are of particular interest to food industry which is looking for plant extracts with significant antimicrobial activity to be used as alternatives to conventional food preservatives (Skotti et al., 2014). Regarding these beneficial effects and properties of plant, phenolics interest is considerably increasing in finding naturally occurring antioxidants from botanical sources, to be use in the food industry and in preventive medicine (to replace synthetic antioxidants that are being restricted due to their possible toxicity and carcinogenicity). (Bettaieb et al., 2011). Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) is a common herbal plant widely cultivated in various parts of the world, but it is native to the Mediterranean region. It is an aromatic herb that is used extensively to add a distinctive aroma and flavor to food. Its