Investigation of the growth and phytochemical variations for different Salvia species in terms of their transfer and adaptation in Iran

More than 1000 species of Salvia genus are reported all over the world, some of which have high pharmaceutical values for use in food-pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In order to domesticate and breed some endemic Salvia species of Iran, the seeds of 14 species were collected from North, West, Central, and Northeast of Iran, in an altitude ranging from 580 m to 2269 m. To evaluate the diversity of the studied Salvia species without environmental influences, the seeds of the collected species were planted under similar environmental and soil conditions. At flowering stage, the morphological and essential oil content of the grown plants were determined. The assayed species were phenotypically diverse, and there were considerable variations among the species in terms of plant growth and flower characteristics. Furthermore, significant differences were observed among the studied species regarding the quantity of essential oil. The mean essential oil content and yield of different Salvia species were 0.06–1.24% v/w and 0.02–0.19 g per plant, respectively. Among the species, Salvia officinalis and Salvia sclarea showed the highest essential oil content and yield, respectively. Correlation analysis showed a weak relationship between the morphological characteristics and essential oil content. Moreover, the results of Principal Compound Analysis (PCA) based on the assayed traits were partially accordance with the species categorizing by Hierarchical Custer Analysis (HCA). Generally according to the obtained results, Salvia sclarea, Salvia reuterana, Salvia officinalis, and Salvia spinosa can be suggested for further domestication and breeding programs.