Essential Oil from Myrcia ovata: Chemical Composition, Antinociceptive and Anti-Inflammatory Properties in Mice

Abstract

The leaves of Myrcia ovata, popularly known as "laranjinha do mato", are frequently used as an infusion in folk medicine. The essential oil obtained from these leaves is rich in citral, a mixture of neral and geranial isomers, known for its analgesic effect. Male Swiss mice (20-22 g) were tested in models of acute pain (acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing, tail flick, and formalin tests) and acute inflammation (paw oedema and air pouch tests) as well as in a model for evaluation of spontaneous motor performance (open-field test). The essential oil from M. ovata was administered orally at doses of 50-300 mg/kg. In addition, water, vehicle, morphine (5.01 mg/kg for evaluation of pain and motor performance), acetyl salicylic acid (200 mg/kg in the formalin test), and dexamethasone (2.25 mg/kg for evaluation of oedema formation, leukocyte extravasation, and quantification of cytokines) were administered. The essential oil showed a significant effect at doses of 200 and 300 mg/kg in the acute pain and acute inflammation tests. The effect of the essential oil was reduced by pretreatment with naloxone. The essential oil did not induce motor impairment. The extract was not toxic after oral administration (LD50 > 3000 mg/kg). These data provide initial evidence that the traditional use of M. ovata can be effective in reducing pain and inflammation.

Anti‐Inflammatory Activity of the Essential Oil Citral in Experimental Infection with Staphylococcus aureus in a Model Air Pouch

“…It is believed that the essential oils target different molecular targets for antibiotics, being active against pathogens often resistant to conventional therapy [20]. Other studies report that some essential oils may contain substances that more easily penetrate the lipid layer, as differences in the bacterial cell wall structures allow or prevent entry of substances in bacteria [23]. …”

“…The anti-inflammatory activity of this oil was described [31], demonstrating that it has the property of inhibiting production of in vivo and in vitro IL-1 β and IL-6 in mice peritoneal macrophages, as confirmed by findings in this study in relation to IL-6. According to the literature, mice inoculated with carrageenan, the treatment with oral doses of 50–300 mg/Kg of essential oil obtained from Myrcia ovata plant, rich in EOC, demonstrated a significant effect in reducing pain and inflammation [23]. Regarding the data obtained in the washing with the inflammatory mediators of the air pouch tissue, this result may have occurred due to the mechanism of action, since the pharmacological effect of the most relevant EOC is caused by inhibition of TRPV1, TRPV3, TRPA1, and TRPM8 after activation of these receptors.…”

Constituents and Pharmacological Activities of Myrcia (Myrtaceae): A Review of an Aromatic and Medicinal Group of Plants

“…Sesquiterpenes are the major compounds in most of these oils, although monoterpenes were identified in a higher amount than sesquiterpenes in the essential oil of M. acuminatissima and M. bombycina [20], one of the studied specimen of M. cuprea [25], M. myrtillifolia [30] and M. ovata [17,32,33]. The major compound of the essential oil of M. obtecta flowers of was methyl salicylate [31], and the most abundant compound of the essential oil of M. tomentosa stem bark was decanoic acid [39].…”

“…Essential oils from M. ovata leaves (50–300 mg/kg of oral doses) showed significant effect in acute pain and inflammation tests with no adverse effects and intoxication during the assays; according to the authors, these results provided initial evidence of the traditional use of this species [33]. …”

Chemical composition, phytotoxic potential, biological activities and antioxidant properties of Myrcia hatschbachii D. Legrand essential oil

“…Several studies have highlighted the main properties of essential oils derived from the Myrcia species. Myrcia ovata leaf essential oil (EO) extracts exert anti-inflammatory (Santos et al, 2014) and larvicidal (Lima et al, 2011) activities. EO extracts of Myrcia fallax flowers (Alarcón et al, 2009), Myrcia myrtillifolia leaves (Cerqueira et al, 2007), and Myrcia splendens stems (Jiménez et al, 2012) exhibit antimicrobial Page 2 / 9 activities.…”