Effect of Rosifoliol/Agarospirol and 7α-Hydroxysandaracopimaric Acid from Salvia elegans Vahl on Local Inflammation and LPS-Activated RAW-Blue Cells

Salvia elegans Vahl. is used to treat inflammatory conditions; however, its direct anti-inflammatory activity has been scarcely investigated. This study evaluated the ethyl acetate extract (SeAcOEt) in vivo and in vitro, using the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced mouse ear edema model, and the effects of selected isolated metabolites on inflammatory signaling by measuring NF-κB/AP-1-dependent SEAP reporter activity in LPS-stimulated RAW-Blue™ macrophages. Phytochemical characterization was performed using thin-layer chromatography, column chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). SeAcOEt yielded the following three fractions: SeFA, containing the terpene mixture rosifoliol (1)/agarospirol (2); SeFB, ursolic acid (3) and 7α-hydroxysandaracopimaric acid (4); and SeFC, jaceosidin (5) and isosakuranetin-5-O-rutinoside (6). SeAcOEt inhibited TPA-induced ear edema by 87.3%, whereas SeFB showed the highest activity (97.4%), comparable to indomethacin. The terpene mixture and 7α-hydroxysandaracopimaric acid reduced NF-κB/AP-1-dependent SEAP reporter activity in LPS-stimulated RAW-Blue™ macrophages. The anti-inflammatory activity of S. elegans could be associated with the combined contribution of phytochemicals enriched in the bioactive fraction SeFB rather than with a single active constituent. This study expands the phytochemical knowledge of S. elegans by reporting 7α-hydroxysandaracopimaric acid and provides pharmacological evidence supporting the traditional use of this species for inflammatory conditions.