Pharmacophylogenetic Study on Plants of Genus Salvia L. from China

In China, many species of genus Salvia L. (Lamiaceae) are important medicinal plants with a long history. Due to their marked ethnopharmacological uses in folk medicine and a large number of active constituents with therapeutic potential found recently, they have become a rich source for new drug discovery, mechanism research, and biological experiment. All medicinal plants of Salvia L. could be divided into three groups (Groups 1, 2, and 3). The plants in Group 1 were used as “Danshen” and are rich in diterpenoids and caffeic acid derivatives. Few introduced plants in Group 2 from America or Europe have been used to clear body-heat and toxins. Abietane diterpenes of medicinal species in Group 3 (the species are from Subg. Allagospadonopsis Briq., Sect. Plethiosphace, or Sect. Notiosphace) are absent, and the contents of caffeic acid derivatives are considerably lower than those in plants of Group 1.