Metabolite profiling and antioxidative activity of Sage (Salvia fruticosa Mill.) under the influence of genotype and harvesting period

Two cultivated accessions of Salvia fruticosa Mill. were investigated and evaluated for their essential oil, phenolic composition and antioxidant activity, during different harvesting time. The essential oil and its major compound 1.8 cineole, presented their higher yields during the early summer harvesting. The advanced analytical LC–MS/MS method applied in this work led to the identification of thirty five compounds with rosmarinic acid, the diterpene artefact carnosol and several flavones and flavonols as the main phenolic constituents, the concentration of which varied largely from spring to autumn. The antioxidant activity of respective methanolic extracts was determined using the Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays, as a quality control tool. High positive correlations were observed between FRAP and ABTS antioxidant activities and total phenolic/flavonoid content, and particular phenolic constituents