Comparative analysis of five salvia species using LC-DAD-QToF

Authors: AVULA, BHARATHI - University Of Mississippi; BAE, JI-YEONG - University Of Mississippi; CHITTIBOYINAA, AMAR - University Of Mississippi; WANG, YAN-HONG - University Of Mississippi; Wang, Mei; SRIVEDAVYASASRI, RADHAKRISHNAN - University Of Mississippi; ALI, ZULFIQAR - University Of Mississippi; LI, JING - Food And Drug Administration(FDA); WU, CHARLES - Food And Drug Administration(FDA); KHAN, IKHLAS - University Of Mississippi

Submitted to: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2021
Publication Date: 12/5/2021
Citation: Avula, B., Bae, J., Chittiboyinaa, A.A., Wang, Y., Wang, M., Srivedavyasasri, R., Ali, Z., Li, J., Wu, C., Khan, I.A. 2021. Comparative analysis of five salvia species using LC-DAD-QToF. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114520.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114520

Interpretive Summary: Salvia species are commonly found worldwide as sage plants, they are abundantly located and utilized in three main geographical areas, Europe around the Mediterranean, South-East Asia, and Central and South America. LC-QToF method has been used for the simultaneous analysis of a diverse set of phytochemicals, viz., phenolic acids, including flavonoids, diterpenoids, and triterpenoids belonging to five closely related sage species. More than 20 botanically verified samples representing five Salvia species, S. officinalis, S. miltiorrhiza, S. divinorum, S. mellifera, and S. apiana, were included in the current study. A total of 183 phenolic compounds and di/triterpenoids from five different Salvia species were chromatographically resolved within 27 min. Most of these were identified by comparison with reference standards and compared with literature data. Chromatographic fingerprinting demonstrated the similarities and differences between various Salvia samples. PCA, PLS-DA, and HCA were applied to the various Salvia species samples as a quality assessment to differentiate their chemical profiles. The proposed method can be used to the standardization, authentication, and differentiation of large numbers of similar types of Salvia samples.

Technical Abstract: Several Salvia species, commonly known as sage plants, are an integral part of various culinary and folklore preparations for the perceived wide range of effects from organoleptic to psychological. As a result, many of these species are an integral part of botanical drug applications, highlighting the need for accurate identification and quality control for consumer’s safety. Five Salvia species (S. officinalis, S. miltiorrhiza, S. divinorum, S. mellifera, and S. apiana) were analyzed using LC-QToF and applied statistical models to demonstrate the utility of such integrated methods for the differentiation of closely related species within a botanical family. Accurate mass measurement (< 5 ppm) of protonated and deprotonated molecules together with resulting fragments and product ions allowed unequivocal or tentative identification of more than 180 compounds either by comparison with reference standards or literature data. Identified analytes, together with chemometrics, partial least squares discriminant, and hierarchical cluster analyses, served as a powerful tool for the differentiation and unambiguous identification of species-specific markers for all five studied sage species. Due to the aerial plant parts studied, all these species were identified with various phenolic acids, flavonoids as well as di- and tri-terpenoids. Polyphenolics, viz., salvianolic A/B and rosmarinic acids in S. officinalis, lipophilic diterpenoids, viz., tanshinones in S. miltiorrhiza, and abietatriene diterpenes and triterpenoids (ursane-/olean-type) in S. mellifera, and S. apiana were identified as characteristic, significant components. In comparison, salvinorins and divinorins representing a class of neoclerodane diterpenoids were detected only in S. divinorum. The presented methodology can successfully be applied to qualitatively assess sage-based ingredients in various finished products and formulations.