Phytochemical Profiling, Antioxidant Activity, and Chemotaxonomic Evaluation of Selected Salvia Species from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The genus Salvia L. (Lamiaceae) is famous for its remarkable phytochemical diversity and broad range of biological activities. Despite the taxonomic and medicinal importance of Salvia species from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, comprehensive phytochemical investigations are still limited. Thus, the current study was aimed to characterize the phytochemical profile of seven Salvia species using a combination of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profiling, quantification of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), DPPH inhibition and multivariate analyses to evaluate the phytochemical relationship among the species. The GC‒MS analysis revealed 29–67 compounds in the studied species, giving rise to unique species-specific chemical fingerprints. The majority of metabolites identified were fatty acids, terpenoids, phenolic derivatives and norisoprenoids. Metabolite composition and phytochemical traits were considerably different between species. Among the studied taxa, the highest TPC (712.34 μg GAE/g), TFC (374.68 μg QE/g) and DPPH inhibition (12.4%) was found in Salvia spinosa. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two major clusters, comprising (1) S. spinosa and S. bracteata and (2) S. indica, S. palaestina, S. trichoclada, S. multicaulis, and S. compressa. The results indicate the phytochemical differences among the studied taxa and the efficiency of metabolite-based approaches for the elucidation of phytochemical relationships in the genus Salvia.