Pages: 19-26

Abstract

Pharmacological and taxonomic studies have been mainly driven by investigations about distribution and composition of fatty acids of seed oils. Seed oils of eight saliva species (S. hydrangea, S. xanthocheila, S. limbata, S. aethiopis, S. macrochlamys, S. nemorosa, S. sclarea and S. verticillata) collected from Ardebil province in Iran were obtained by Soxhlet apparatus using hexane. The oil yields were found to be between 2.2% and 25%. Fatty acids in the oils were converted to methyl esters and determined by GC/MS in methyl ester form. The main fatty acid components were linoleic acid, linolenic acid, oleic acid and palmitic acid. The broad sense heritability was assessed between 0.992 and 1. Moreover, there were noticeable qualitative and quantitative differences among Salvia species based on fatty acid composition and oil yield in seeds. Hence, these traits could be used as selection criteria to improve seed yield and quality.