Terpenes of the genus salvia: Cytotoxicity and antitumoral effects

Abstract

Plants are an important source of natural compounds used in cancer chemotherapy. The Salvia genus includes around 900 species worldwide and is an important source of terpenes, a group of secondary metabolites. According to an estimate, 111 terpenes are isolated from 24 Salvia species till date, and only 48 terpenes showed the cytotoxic activity. Out of 24 species, 16 are the native of Asia and 7 of America and 1 is from Europe. On the basis of the chemical compounds, 82 correspond to diterpenes, 4 sesterpenoids, 16 sesquiterpenes, and 9 triterpenes. Out of total diterpenes, five (ferruginol, sclareol, cryptotanshinone, tanshinone I, and tanshinone IIA) have been tested for their antitumoral effect. The present chapter described detail account of terpenes isolated from plants of the Salvia genus with their cytotoxic and antitumor activity.