Muscle Relaxing Activity of Hyssopus officinalis Essential Oil on Isolated Intestinal Preparations

Abstract

The muscle relaxing activity of the essential oil of Hyssopus officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) and some of its main components (isopinocamphone, limonene and beta-pinene) was studied on isolated preparations of guinea-pig and rabbit intestine. The essential oil and isopinocamphone inhibited the acetylcholine- and BaCl2-induced contractions in guinea-pig ileum in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 42.4 microg/ml and 61.9 microg/ml to acetylcholine; 48.3 microg/ml and 70.4 microg/ml to BaCl2) whereas limonene or beta-pinene left tissue contraction unchanged. In guinea-pig ileum H. officinalis essential oil also blocked the contractions induced by CaCl2. In isolated rabbit jejunum the essential oil reduced the amplitude of spontaneous movements and decreased the basal tone; neither haemoglobin, methylene blue, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or propranolol blocked the myorelaxant effect.

Relaxant effects of the essential oil of Mentha pulegium L. in rat isolated trachea and urinary bladder

“…Monoterpene compounds, similar to pulegone, have also had their inhibitory effects reported. Pinocamphinone and isopinocamphone inhibited the contractions elicited by ACh and BaCl 2 [24] . Barium is a nonspecific spasmogen that uses calcium channels to enter the cell and induces contraction; [25] these monoterpenes seems to inhibit K60, a mechanism that could also be used by pulegone.…”

Metabolic Profile of Offspring from Diabetic Wistar Rats Treated with Mentha piperita (Peppermint)

“…Thereafter, randomly selected rats received an intravenous administration (caudal vein) of 40 mg of streptozotocin (STZ)/Kg (STZ, Sigma Chemical Company, St. Louis, Mo, USA) diluted in citrate buffer (0.1 M; pH 4.5). Nondiabetic animals ( n = 20) received only the vehicle (citrate buffer) in a volume that was equivalent to that of the diabetogenic drug [17, 18]. As an inclusion criterion, rats were considered to be diabetic ( n = 20) when showing glycemia above 200 mg/dL and nondiabetic (control, n = 20) when showing glycemia below 120 mg/dL.…”

“…Mentha piperita L (family Labiatae; genus Mentha ) is one of the ten most widely used plants in Brazil and is commonly used in the treatment of loss of appetite, common cold, bronchitis, fever, nausea, vomiting [16], spasmodic responses [17], and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities [18, 19]. It is also used for culinary purposes.…”

Evaluation of Alstonia scholaris leaves for broncho-vasodilatory activity

“…In preliminary experiments, contractile response elicited by sub-maximal dose (determined from preliminary experiments) of barium chloride (0.1 mM) or potassium chloride (5 mM) was recorded on ileum in the absence (control) or presence of extract (320 g/ml), which was added 10 min prior to the addition of contractile agent (Lu et al, 2002). The blood vessels were contracted three times with a depolarizing high-K + KHS.…”