Plant growth, essential oil yield and composition of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) fruits cultivated under salt stress conditions

A glasshouse experiment was conducted to assess the effect of different NaCl concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100 mM) on plant growth, essential oil production and composition of Salvia officinalis fruits. The first results showed that increasing NaCl levels to 100 mM reduced significantly the plant growth by 65%. While, the essential oil yield increased significantly from control to 75 mM and decreased only at 100 mM NaCl. Salt stress affect also the essential oil compounds mainly the major ones. Hence, viridiflorol was the main essential oil compound at control and 25 mM NaCl, 1,8-cineole became the predominant compound at 50 and 75 mM and manool prevailed at 100 mM. The oxygenated monoterpenes were the main class at all the treatments except at severe one when the diterpenes were the main ones. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.