ABSTRACT
Salvia veneris is endemic to Cyprus and used for pain relief and infectious diseases by local people. This study aimed to evaluate folkloric uses of Salvia veneris and develop a topical formulation for analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects as an alternative to NSAIDs. The analgesic activity of Salvia veneris ethanol extract was studied using an acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice and formalin-induced paw licking in rats. For anti-inflammatory activity, the formalin-induced paw edema model was used. Five topical formulations were prepared by varying the concentrations of ingredients and evaluated. One-way analysis of variance was used at the P<0.05 confidence level for data analysis. The oral LD50 of Salvia veneris in rats was greater than 5000mg/kg. The extract showed significant (P=0.008) analgesic activity in the acetic acid-induced writhing test and significant (P<0.01) dose-dependent analgesic activity in both phases of the formalin test. In the formalin-induced paw edema test, 50 and 200mg/kg of extract significantly (P<0.05) suppressed inflammation. The extract showed dose-dependent antioxidant activity with 0.04559mg/mL IC50. This study confirms the folkloric use of Salvia veneris and shows that a topical formulation of Salvia veneris can be used as an alternative to topical NSAIDs.