Antinociceptive effects of the essential oil of Croton zehntneri in mice

Abstract

Croton zehntneri is an aromatic plant native to Northeastern Brazil, where it is often used in folk medicine. In the present study the antinociceptive effects of the essential oil of Croton zehntneri (EOCz) were evaluated in mice. EOCz administered orally at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg reduced paw licking time in the second phase of the formalin test from the control value of 41.61 ± 8.62 to 12.01 ± 7.97 and 6.57 ± 3.42 s, respectively. During the first phase of the formalin test only 300 mg/kg induced a significant alteration (from 58.2 ± 7.02, control, to 28.7 ± 4.73 s). The number of contortions in response to intraperitoneal injections of acetic acid did not differ significantly between controls (80.6 ± 9.01) and experimental (300 mg/kg body weight) animals (89.1 ± 9.53% of the control numbers; P³0.05, Student t-test). In the hot-plate test, EOCz at doses ³ 100 mg/kg significantly increased the latency time with respect to controls (11.2 ± 0.80). At 100 and 300 mg/kg this increase persisted for 180 and 240 min, respectively. The data show that EOCz is effective as an antinociceptive agent.

Effects of estragole on the compound action potential of the rat sciatic nerve

“…Many essential oils and their chemical constituents are known to have potent local anesthetic activity (4)(5)(6) and the blockade of neuronal excitability induced by them might have important inflammatory and immunological consequences (7,8). Since no previous pharmacological studies with estragole have examined its effects on peripheral nerve electrophysiology, the objective of the present study was to characterize the actions of estragole on the compound action potential (CAP).…”

“…In the present study we did not investigate the mechanism underlying the changes in excitability. Estragole is an isomer of anethole, for which important activities related to inflammatory and immunological processes have been described (2,7), including blockade of all effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (10). Since the nervous system plays an important role in inflammation and immunity (8), it is important to characterize and elucidate the mechanism of action of estragole and anethole in terms of nerve effects, as done in the present study.…”

Estaquia de Croton zehntneri Pax et Hoffm. com diferentes concentrações de ácido indol butírico

“…(Euphorbiaceae), conhecida popularmente como canela de cunhã, canelinha, canelinha-brava ou canela-brava, é uma planta subarbustiva e caducifólia do Nordeste brasileiro, cujas folhas e hastes são dotadas de aroma Ciência Rural, v.42, n.4, abr, 2012. que lembra uma mistura de erva-doce e cravo-da-Índia (LORENZI & MATOS, 2008). C. zehntneri é usada na medicina popular principalmente como sedativa, como estimulante de apetite e para aliviar distúrbios intestinais (AGRA et al, 2008;LORENZI & MATOS, 2008), sendo comprovada a atividade antinociceptiva (OLIVEIRA et al, 2001), antioxidante (MORAIS et al, 2006), antifúngica (LIMA et al, 2008) e os efeitos depressivos do óleo essencial de suas folhas sobre o sistema nervoso central em ratos e camundongos (BATATINHA et al, 1991).…”

Effect of Orange Oil on the Oral Absorption of Enrofloxacin in Rats

“…Many essential oil components are generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA and have been used as artificial flavors and preservatives in the manufacture of perfume and over-the-counter formulations of medicines [1]. Some essential oils have demonstrated strong antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and insecticidal activities [1,7,9,16,20]. Recently, there was extensive research on the biomedical applications in industrial animals served as antibiotic alternatives and natural insecticides [2,14,17,28].…”