Monoterpenes with Analgesic Activity—A Systematic Review

Abstract

There is still the need for efficacious therapies for pain. In the search for new therapeutic options, plants are a major source of novel biomolecules. Monoterpenes constitute 90% of essential oils, and there is a growing interest in understanding the mechanisms underlying their pharmacological activity. This systematic review reports what is so far known about the analgesic activity of monoterpenes and also provides an overview of their mechanisms of action. The search terms analgesia, anti-inflammatory, anaesthetic and antioxidant were used to retrieve English language articles in SCOPUS, PUBMED and EMBASE published between 1990 and 2012. Forty-five papers were found concerning the potential analgesic activity of 27 monoterpenes. The data reviewed here suggest these compounds are possible candidates for the treatment of painful conditions.

Phytochemical screening and analgesic profile of the lyophilized aqueous extract obtained from Chrysobalanus icaco leaves in experimental protocols

“…Moreover, the presence of diterpene and triterpene has also been confirmed ). Due to the consistent presence of flavonols and terpenes in AEC, it is possible to suggest that these compounds contributed to the analgesic effect, since several studies have described the analgesic and anti-inflammatory profiles of these compounds (Guimaraes et al 2013;S a et al 2013Souza et al 2014). …”

“…Additionally, the use of medicinal plants as an optional treatment has been increasing, especially in developing countries. Hence, chemical and pharmacological studies are essential for the usage to become safe and improve effectiveness (Guimaraes et al 2013(Guimaraes et al , 2014Quintans et al 2014). Chrysobalanus icaco L. (Chrysobalanaceae), popularly kwon as 'abajeru' or 'grageru', is a medicinal plant common in tropical areas.…”

“…In addition, previous reports showed the presence of diterpenes in the roots of C. icaco (Gustafson et al 1991) and anthocyanins in its fruits (Brito et al 2007) that may contribute to a better understanding of the pharmacological effects. Terpenes have been promising substances in the study of new chemical entities targeting analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs (Guimaraes et al 2013(Guimaraes et al , 2014.…”

Planimetric and Biomechanical Study of Local Effect of Pulegone on Full Thickness Wound Healing in Rat

“…In vitro studies have revealed that pulegone is a selective COX-2 inhibitor and probably acts through the inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediators from the cascade of cyclooxygenase (9). In addition, a study to evaluate the correlation between structure and anti-nociceptive activity demonstrated that pulegone showed an antinociceptive against the pain response induced by acetic acid (10). These properties of pulegone made it favorable for the authors to conduct a study to evaluate its wound healing potentials.…”

Citronellal, a monoterpene present in Java citronella oil, attenuates mechanical nociception response in mice

“…In this context, it can include natural products (Bonjardim et al, 2011;Paixão et al, 2013). It can highlight the monoterpenos within the natural products, which are the main chemical constituents of the essential oils of plants with therapeutic properties (Edris, 2007;Guimarães et al, 2013;Silva et al, 2007). These molecules and their derivatives exhibit several types of pharmacological properties, such as anxiolytic (Silva et al, 2007), analgesic (Guimarães et al, 2010(Guimarães et al, , 2013Quintans-Júnior et al, 2011a, b), antiinflammatory (Guimarães et al, 2012) 2006c, 2007Passos et al, 2009) and anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities (Botelho et al, 2009).…”