Chemical Constituents and Anti-inflammatory, Antinociceptive, and Antioxidant Activities of Salvia melissiflora Aerial Parts

Chromatographic fractionation of dichloromethane and ethanol extracts of Salvia melissiflora Benth., Lamiaceae, aerial parts led to the identification of five known compounds through analyses of NMR data (1D and 2D) and comparison with literature data: oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, ent-(5R,9R)-15,16-epoxy-10S-hydroxyclerodan-3,13(16),14-triene-17,12S;18,19-diolide (melissiflorine), 7-epi-salvianduline A, and rosmarinic acid. The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity of dichloromethane and ethanol extracts was evaluated in mice. The oral administration of ethanol extract reduced the second phase of formalin-induced nociception, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hyperalgesia, and carrageenan-induced edema in mice. The oral administration of dichloromethane extract also reduced LPS-induced hyperalgesia without altering motor performance of the animals. The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects are probably related to the presence of rosmarinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using the ORAC method. The ethanol extract showed activity (TE relative, 2845.2 mu mol TE g-1), which can be attributed to the major presence, in this extract, of rosmarinic acid, which showed an antioxidant capacity comparable to that of caffeic acid.