Chemical composition, cholinesterase, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the essential oils of some Iranian native Salvia species.

Background: The plants from Salvia genus contain widely distributed species which have been used in folk medicine as well as pharmaceutical and food industries.

Methods: The chemical composition of 12 native Iranian Salvia species (14 plants) was identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Also, the inhibitory activity of all essential oils (EOs) was evaluated toward α-glucosidase and two types of cholinesterase (ChE) using spectrophotometric methods.