Introduction The genus Salvia includes about 900 shrub-like plant species be- longing to the Lamiaceae family. Several species of this genus have long been used all around the world in food preparations as flavouring and natural antioxidants, as well as in traditional medicines for different therapeutic properties. These plants are reported to possess a wide range of biological activities, which could, at least in part, explain their beneficial effects in the treat- ment of many disorders. In fact, among others, they have been reported to exert antimicrobial [1], spasmolytic [2], central ner- vous system-depressant [2], antitumour [1], and anti-inflamma- tory properties [3]. S. hierosolymitana Boiss. is a perennial herb with square, purple stems. The basal leaves are petiolate, 10 ± 20 cm long, ovate-ob- long, the flowers are purple or wine red. The leaves are con- sumed in Jordan as a stuffed dish [4], [5]. The only study on this species led to isolation of some dammarane, oleanane and ur- sane triterpenes [6]. In order to verify the use of S. hierosolymitana in the traditional medicine of Jordan as an anti-inflammatory remedy, leaf extracts were evaluated for their in vivo topical anti-inflammatory activ- ity. Using the Croton oil-induced ear oedema in mice [7] as ex- perimental model of inflammation, a potent antiphlogistic activ- ity was observed for the chloroform extract of S. hierosolymitana leaves. Further chromatographic separation of this extract led to the isolation and characterisation of eight polyhydroxylated tri- terpenes with different anti-inflammatory potencies. Four of them are new natural compounds [3b,6a,23-trihydroxyurs- 12,19(29)-dien-28-oic acid (1); 23-(trans-p-coumaroyloxy)- 3b,6a,30-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (2); 2a,3b-dihydroxy- olean-28-oic acid (3); 24-nor-2a,3b-dihydroxyolean-4(23),12- New Polyhydroxylated Triterpenes and Anti- Inflammatory Activity of Salviahierosolymitana A. De Felice 1 A. Bader 2 A. Leone 1 S. Sosa 3 R. Della Loggia 3 A. Tubaro 3 N. De Tommasi 1 Affiliation 1 Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, Salerno, Italy 2 Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan 3 Dipartimento dei Materiali e delle Risorse Naturali, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy Correspondence Prof. Nunziatina De Tommasi ´ Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche ´ Università di Salerno ´ Via Ponte Don Melillo, 1 ´ 84084 Fisciano, (SA) ´ Italy ´ Phone: +39-089-96-2647 ´ Fax: +39-089-96-2828 ´ E-mail: detommasi@unisa.it Received June 1, 2005 ´ Accepted January 26, 2006 Bibliography Planta Med 2006; 72: 643±649  Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart ´ New York DOI 10.1055/s-2006-931573 ´ Published online May 29, 2006 ISSN 0032-0943 Abstract Salvia hierosolymitana (Lamiaceae) leaves were investigated for their topical anti-inflammatory properties following a bioassay- guided fractionation. The chloroform extract showed a strong in- hibition of the Croton oil-induced ear oedema in mice, compar- able to that of indomethacin. Phytochemical and pharmacologi- cal investigations of this extract led to the isolation of eight anti- inflammatory polyhydroxylated triterpenes of the ursane and oleanane series. Four of them are new compounds, whose struc- tures were elucidated by NMR and mass spectroscopy as 3b,6a,23-trihydroxyurs-12,19(29)-dien-28-oic acid, 23-(trans-p- coumaroyloxy)-3b,6a,30-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, 2a,3b- dihydroxyolean-28-oic acid and 24-nor-2a,3b-dihydroxyolean- 4(23),12-ene. Key words Salvia hierosolymitana ´ Lamiaceae ´ triterpenes ´ anti-inflamma- tory activity ´ Croton oil ear test Original Paper 643