Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of the Essential Oil in Leaves of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge

The essential oil from the air-dried leaves of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, collected from Qinling Mountains of China during the blooming stage, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Hexadecanoic acid (17.0%), germacrene D (9.1%), phytol (8.9%), beta-caryophyllene (7.1%) and methyl linolenate (5.3%) were the main components (73.3%). The oil showed moderate antibacterial activity against Bacillus coagulans, Staphylococcus albus and Staphylococcus aureus. The oil sample also showed some antioxidant activities in the 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH.) and beta-carotene/linoleic acid assays.