Background: In traditional medicine, many herbal medicines like lamiaceae family are used as treatment for dementia. Lamiaceae family has many pharmacological effects including antioxidant, anti-cholinesterase, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and enhancing cognition and memory. Salvia mirzayanii is one of the species of this family and has been used as an herbal medicine for many years. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of essential oil of S. mirzayanii on learning and memory in mice using the two passive avoidance methods.

Materials and Methods: The aerial parts of the plant were dried in shade and essential oils were obtained using clevenger apparatus. The active components in the essential oils of the plant were also identified using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). One-hundred and forty mice classified into different groups (n=10) were received certain doses of diazepam (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mg/kg) or the essential oil of S. mirzayanii (0.48, 0.96 and 1.92 mg/kg) by gavage tube. The step-down and step-through latencies were used to evaluate the learning and memory.

Results: S. mirzayanii essential oil significantly increased the step-down and step-through latency times in both methods (P<0.01).

Conclusion: Essential oil of S. mirzayanii can enhance learning and memory in mice and it has the potential of protection against Alzheimer and dementia.