Abstract:The cardiovascular effects of i.v. treatment with 1,8-cineole, a monoterpenic oxide present in many plant essential oils, were investigated in normotensive rats. This study examined (i) whether the autonomic nervous system is involved in the mediation of 1,8-cineole-induced changes in mean aortic pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) and (ii) whether the hypotensive effects of 1,8-cineole could result from its vasodilatory effects directly upon vascular smooth muscle. In both pentobarbital-anesthetized and conscious, freely moving rats, bolus injections of 1,8-cineole (0.3-10 mg/kg, i.v.) elicited similar and dose-dependent decreases in MAP. Concomitantly, 1,8-cineole significantly decreased HR only at the highest dose (10 mg/kg). Pretreatment of anesthetized rats with bilateral vagotomy significantly reduced the bradycardic responses to 1,8-cineole (10 mg/kg) without affecting hypotension. In conscious rats, i.v. pretreatment with methylatropine (1 mg/kg), atenolol (1.5 mg/kg), or hexamethonium (30 mg/kg) had no significant effects on the 1,8-cineole-induced hypotension, while bradycardic responses to 1,8-cineole (10 mg/kg) were significantly reduced by methylatropine. In rat isolated thoracic aorta preparations, 1,8-cineole (0.006-2.6 mM) induced a concentrationdependent reduction of the contraction induced by potassium (60 mM). This is the first physiological evidence that i.v. treatment with 1,8-cineole in either anesthetized or conscious rats elicits hypotension; this effect seems related to an active vascular relaxation rather than withdrawal of sympathetic tone.Key words: 1,8-cineole, essential oil, cardiovascular effects, autonomic nervous system, isolated thoracic aorta.Résumé : On a examiné les effets d'un traitement par administration i.v. de 1,8-cinéole, un oxyde monoterpénique entrant dans le composition de nombreuses huiles essentielles, chez des rats normotendus. On a examiné (i) si le système nerveux autonome joue un rôle dans les variations induites par le 1,8-cinéole de la pression aortique moyenne (PAM) et de la fréquence cardiaque (FC) et (ii) si les effets hypotenseurs du 1,8-cinéole pourraient découler de ses effets vasodilatateurs directement sur le muscle lisse vasculaire. Des injections de bolus de 1,8-cinéole (0,3-10 mg/kg, i.v.) ont provoqué des diminutions similaires et dose dépendantes de la PAM chez les rats anesthésiés au pentobarbital et chez les rats conscients libres de circuler. Le 1,8-cinéole a aussi diminué significativement la FC mais à la dose la plus élevée uniquement (10 mg/kg). Chez les rats anesthésiés, un prétraitement au moyen d'une vagotomie bilatérale a réduit de manière significative les réponses bradycardiques au 1,8-cinéole (10 mg/kg) sans influer sur l'hypotension. Chez les rats conscients, un prétraitement i.v. de méthylatropine (1 mg/kg), d'aténolol (1,5 mg/kg) ou d'hexaméthonium (30 mg/kg) n'a pas eu d'effet significatif sur l'hypotension induite par le 1,8-cinéole, alors que les réponses bradycardiques au 1,8-cinéole (10 mg/kg) ont été significativemen...

Various essential oils are rich in carvacrol, a monoterpenic phenol isomeric with thymol. This study was undertaken to assess the vasorelaxant effects of thymol and carvacrol in rat isolated aorta and the putative mechanisms underlying these effects. Thymol and carvacrol produced a concentration-dependent relaxation on the aortic ring preparations pre-contracted using KCl (IC(50) value of 64.40 +/- 4.41 and 78.80 +/- 11.91 microm, respectively) or using phenylephrine (PHE, 0.1 microm) (IC(50) value of 106.40 +/- 11.37 and 145.40 +/- 6.07 microm, respectively) and inhibited the concentration-response curves of aortic rings to PHE or KCl. In Ca(2+)-free medium with ethylene glycol-bis(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (2 mm), thymol and carvacrol both at 1000 microm completely abolished the phasic component of PHE-induced endothelium-containing ring contractions. At 400 microm, thymol and carvacrol significantly reduced the CaCl(2)-induced contractions in Ca(2+)-free medium. Furthermore, both thymol and carvacrol (300 and 1000 microm) significantly reduced the contraction evoked by phorbol dibutyrate (1 microm), an activator of protein kinase C. Magnitude of this inhibitory effect was enhanced in the presence of the Ca2+ pump inhibitor, thapsigargin (1 microm). At 1000 microm, neither thymol nor carvacrol altered the resting potential of vascular smooth muscle cells. In conclusion, thymol and carvacrol induced an endothelium-independent relaxation in rat isolated aorta, an effect that seems mediated through some mechanisms probably involving a transduction pathway between Ca(2+) release from sarcoplasmic reticulum and/or regulation of the Ca2+ sensitivity of the contractile system. Moreover, it's conceivable that thymol and carvacrol, at low concentrations, block the Ca(2+) influx through the membrane.

Cardiovascular effects of intravenous (i.v.) treatment with the essential oil of Croton nepetaefolius (EOCN) were investigated in rats. Additionally, this study examined the importance of the autonomic nervous system in mediation of the EOCN-induced changes in mean aortic pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). In both pentobarbitone-anaesthetised and conscious rats, i.v. bolus injections of EOCN (1 to 50 mg/kg) elicited dose-dependent decreases in MAP and HR. Both decreases were of the same order of magnitude or duration, irrespective of whether the animal was under general anaesthesia. Pretreatment of anaesthetised rats with bilateral vagotomy reduced the magnitude of EOCN-induced bradycardia without affecting hypotension. Likewise, i.v. pretreatment of conscious rats with either methylatropine (1 mg/kg) or hexamethonium (30 mg/kg) significantly decreased the bradycardic effects of EOCN by the same order of magnitude. Neither compound influenced the hypotensive effects elicited by EOCN. This is the first physiological evidence that i.v. treatment with EOCN in either anaesthetised or conscious rats elicits hypotension and bradycardia. EOCN-induced bradycardia appears dependent upon the presence of an intact and functional parasympathetic nerve drive to the heart. However, EOCN-induced hypotension appears independent of the presence of an operational sympathetic nervous system. This suggests that EOCN may be a direct vasorelaxant agent.

Experiments tested the hypothesis that hypotensive effects of intravenous (i.v.) treatment with the essential oil of Croton nepetaefolius (EOCN) result from its vasodilatory effects directly upon vascular smooth muscle. In both deoxycorticosterone-acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive and uninephrectomised control, conscious rats, i.v. bolus injections of EOCN (1 to 50 mg/kg) decreased mean aortic pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) in a dose-related manner. Treatment with DOCA-salt significantly enhanced EOCN-induced decreases in MAP without affecting bradycardia. Likewise, both maximal percent and absolute decreases in MAP elicited by i.v. hexamethonium (30 mg/kg), a ganglion blocker, were significantly greater in DOCA-salt hypertensive than in control rats. In DOCA-salt hypertensive rats, i.v. pretreatment with hexamethonium (30 mg/kg) reduced the bradycardia elicited by EOCN (50 mg/kg) without affecting the enhancement of EOCN-induced hypotension. In isolated thoracic aorta preparations from DOCA-salt hypertensive rats, EOCN (1-300 micrograms/ml) induced a concentration-dependent reduction of phenylephrine-induced contraction. Arteries from DOCA rats showed increased sensitivity to EOCN, as evidenced by the significant decrease in the IC50 for EOCN-induced reduction of phenylephrine-induced contraction (16.4 +/- 3.6 vs. 112.9 +/- 23.4 micrograms/ml in uninephrectomized controls). These results show that i.v. treatment with EOCN dose-dependently decreases blood pressure in conscious DOCA-salt hypertensive rats, and this action is enhanced when compared with uninephrectomized controls. This enhancement appears to be related mainly to an increase in EOCN-induced vascular smooth muscle relaxation rather than to enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity in this hypertensive model. Thus, the hypothesis that EOCN may be a direct vasorelaxant agent is supported by the results of the present study.

Linalool is a terpene that occurs as a major constituent of essential oils of many plants of widespread distribution. It possesses several biological and pharmacological activities, including depressant effects on the central nervous system and olfactory receptors. The present study investigated whether linalool affects the excitability of peripheral components of the somatic sensory system. We used sciatic nerve and preparations of intact and dissociated neurons of dorsal root ganglion for extracellular, intracellular and patch-clamp recordings. Linalool concentration-dependently (0.3-2.0mM) and reversibly blocked the excitability of the sciatic nerve. It inhibited peak-to-peak amplitude of the compound action potential (IC(50) was 0.78+/-0.04 mM). At 0.8mM, it reversibly increased rheobase and chronaxy (from 3.2+/-0.1 V and 52.4+/-4.1 micros to 4.2+/-0.3 V and 71.2+/-5.5 micros (n=5), respectively) and inhibited with greater pharmacological potency the amplitude of the compound action potential components corresponding to axons with slower velocity of conduction. In a similar concentration range (0.1-6mM), linalool concentration-dependently and reversibly blocked the generation of action potentials of intact dorsal root ganglion neurons without alteration of resting membrane potential and input resistance, and inhibited the voltage-gated Na(+) current of dissociated dorsal root ganglion neurons. In conclusion, we demonstrated that linalool acts on the somatic sensory system with local anesthetic properties, since it blocked the action potential by acting on voltage-dependent Na(+) channels. This finding is important in showing the potential usefulness of linalool as a pharmacotherapeutic agent.

1. The effects of the essential oil of Croton nepetaefolius (EOCN) and its major constituent, 1,8-cineole, on the compound action potential (CAP) of nerve were investigated. 2. Experiments were performed in sciatic nerves dissected from Wistar rats, mounted in a moist chamber and stimulated at a frequency of 0.2 Hz, with electric pulses of 100 micros duration at 20-40 V. Evoked CAP were displayed on an oscilloscope and recorded on a computer. The CAP control parameters were as follows: peak-to-peak amplitude 8.1 +/- 0.6 mV (n = 15); conduction velocity 83.3 +/- 4.2 m/s (n = 15); chronaxie 58.0 +/- 6.8 msec (n = 6); and rheobase 2.8 +/- 0.1 V (n = 6). 3. Lower concentrations of EOCN (100 and 300 microg/mL) and 1,8-cineole (153 and 307 microg/mL; i.e. 1 and 2 mmol/L, respectively) had no significant effects on CAP control parameters throughout the entire recording period. However, at the end of 180 min exposure of the nerve to the drug, peak-to-peak amplitude was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced to 27.4 +/- 6.7 and 1.7 +/- 0.8% of control values by 500 and 1000 microg/mL EOCN, respectively (n = 6), and to 76.5 +/- 4.4, 70.0 +/- 3.9 and 14.8 +/- 4.1% of control values by 614, 920 and 1227 microg/mL (i.e. 4, 6 and 8 mmol/L) 1,8-cineole, respectively (n = 6). Regarding conduction velocity, at the end of the 180 min exposure period, this parameter was significantly reduced to 85.8 +/- 7.3 and 48.7 +/- 12.3% (n = 6) of control values by 500 and 1000 microg/mL EOCN, respectively, and to 86.4 +/- 4.5 and 76.1 +/- 5.2% (n = 6) by 920 and 1227 microg/mL 1,8-cineole, respectively. Chronaxie and rheobase were significantly increased by the higher concentrations of both EOCN and 1,8-cineole. 4. It is concluded that EOCN and its main constituent 1,8-cineole block nerve excitability in a concentration-dependent manner, an effect that was totally reversible with 1,8-cineole but not with EOCN. This suggests that other constituents of EOCN, in addition to 1,8-cineole, may contribute to the mediation of this effect of EOCN.

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Vasorelaxant effects of essential oil of Alpinia zerumbet (EOAZ) and its main constituent, 1,8-cineole (CIN) were studied. In rat isolated aorta preparations with intact endothelium, EOAZ (0.01-3000 microg/ml) induced significant but incomplete relaxation of the phenylephrine-induced contraction, an effect that was abolished by removal of vascular endothelium. However, at the same concentrations (0.01-3000 microg/ml corresponding to 0.0000647-19.5 mM), CIN induced a complete vasorelaxant effects (IC(50)=663.2+/-63.8 microg/ml) that were significantly reduced in endothelium-denuded rings (IC(50)=1620.6+/-35.7 microg/ml). Neither EOAZ nor CIN affected the basal tonus of isolated aorta. Vasorelaxant effects of both EOAZ and CIN remained unaffected by the addition of tetraethylamonium chloride (500 microM) or indomethacin (10 microM) into the bath, but were significantly reduced by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (100 microM). It is concluded that EOAZ induces a potent vasorelaxant effect that could not be fully attributed to the actions of the main constituent CIN, and appears totally dependent on the integrity of a functional vascular endothelium. The data is novel and corroborate the popular use of A. zerumbet for the treatment of hypertension.