Derivatization of Rosemary is Integral to its Analysis

Authors

  • Ahona Deb University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • Sharon Barden University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • Paul Mayer University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18192/osurj.v5i1.7566

Abstract

Plants of the Lamiaceae family, such as rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), common sage (Salvia officinalis), and white sage (Salvia apiana), are known for their bold flavours, fragrant leaves, and rich sources of bioactive compounds. A key characteristic shared by these plants is their high content of carnosic acid, a prominent phenolic diterpene, and its derivatives. However, the analysis of these compounds via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is challenging and not frequently explored due to their high polarity and low volatility. Derivatization techniques like trimethylsilylation and appropriate solvent selection can address these limitations by enhancing compound volatility, allowing for effective GC-MS identification through characteristic fragmentation patterns. We employed trimethylsilyl derivatization of acetonitrile extracts of rosemary, white and common sage, and quantified carnosic acid, rosmanol, and 12-O-methylcarnosic acid. Rosemary contained the highest amount of carnosic acid at 3.4 mg/mL, followed by common sage at 2.0 mg/mL and white sage at 0.7 mg/mL. Rosemary contained the most rosmanol at 2.2 mg/mL followed by common sage (0.3 mg/mL), and white sage contained minimal amounts (0.003 mg/mL). Additionally, both common sage and rosemary were found to contain 12-O-methylcarnosic acid, with concentrations of 1.3 mg/mL and 0.4 mg/mL, respectively. Thus, we demonstrated that simple solvent extraction and TMS derivatization is an effective approach to quantifying these bioactive compounds in plants.

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Published

2026-06-17

Issue

Section

Original Research