Ethnobotanical study of the sages used in traditional Valencian medicine and as essential oil: characterization of an endemic Salvia and its contribution to local development

Seven wild and cultivated Salvia species and two Phlomis species, used traditionally in Valencian medicine to treat a variety of external and internal ailments, were studied. New ethnobotanical data are provided, obtained from semistructured interviews with 34 people in the Valencian area. A seasonal characterization of the essential oil of a wild sage, Salvia blancoana Webb & Heldr. subsp. mariolensis Figuerola, by GC-FID and GC-MS was carried out as a means to ensure quality control of endemic traditional species such as this one, which has been commercialized by local industries. A comparison with the essential oil of Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl subsp.lavandulifolia allowed inclusion of the wild sage within the commercial 'Spanish sage' oil.