Isolation and identification of antimicrobial multicyclic terpenoids from the medicinal plant Salvia officinalis and development of a formulation against clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains.

This article focuses on the antimicrobial potential of Salvia officinalis (common sage) extracts against Staphylococcus aureus strains responsible for bovine mastitis, a significant disease in dairy farming complicated by multidrug resistance. The study identified three key multicyclic terpenoids—ferruginol, sugiol, and sclareol—in the hexane extract of sage leaves, which exhibited strong antimicrobial, anti-adhesive, and antibiofilm activities at low concentrations, comparable to or better than pure compounds. A topical formulation incorporating this extract effectively inhibited biofilm formation and disrupted established biofilms of clinical S. aureus strains, while demonstrating no cytotoxicity to mammary epithelial cells at therapeutic doses. These findings suggest that S. officinalis-derived compounds offer a promising, safe alternative for managing bovine mastitis caused by drug-resistant S. aureus, with potential applications in veterinary medicine and surface decontamination.