TY - JOUR
T1 - Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of essential oils of Eucalyptus
AU - Silva, Jeane
AU - Abebe, Worku
AU - Sousa, S. M.
AU - Duarte, V. G.
AU - Machado, M. I.L.
AU - Matos, F. J.A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful to Dr. Ana Maria Sampaio Assreuy (Department of Physiology and Pharmacology) Dr. Vânia Maria Maciel Melo and Dr. Ana de Fatima Urano Fonteles (Department of Biology, Federal University of Ceará), and Dr. Carlos A. Flores for their advice and constructive criticism in the preparation of the manuscript. This work was supported by Fundação Cearense de Amparo à Pesquisa (FUCAP) and Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brazil.
PY - 2003/12
Y1 - 2003/12
N2 - Many species of the genus Eucalyptus from the Myrtaceae family are used in Brazilian folk medicine for the treatment of various medical conditions such as cold, flue, fever, and bronchial infections. In the current investigation, we evaluated the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of essential oil extracts from three species of Eucalyptus employing various standard experimental test models. Using acetic acid-induced writhes in mice and hot plate thermal stimulation in rats, it was shown that the essential oils of Eucalyptus citriodora (EC), Eucalyptus tereticornis (ET), and Eucalyptus globulus (EG) induced analgesic effects in both models, suggesting peripheral and central actions. In addition, essential oil extracts from the three Eucalyptus species produced anti-inflammatory effects, as demonstrated by inhibition of rat paw edema induced by carrageenan and dextran, neutrophil migration into rat peritoneal cavities induced by carrageenan, and vascular permeability induced by carrageenan and histamine. However, no consistent results were observed for some of the parameters evaluated, both in terms of activities and dose-response relationships, reflecting the complex nature of the oil extracts and/or the assay systems used. Taken together, the data suggest that essential oil extracts of EC, ET, and EG possess central and peripheral analgesic effects as well as neutrophil-dependent and independent anti-inflammatory activities. These initial observations provide support for the reported use of the eucalyptus plant in Brazilian folk medicine. Further investigation is warranted for possible development of new classes of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs from components of the essential oils of the Eucalyptus species.
AB - Many species of the genus Eucalyptus from the Myrtaceae family are used in Brazilian folk medicine for the treatment of various medical conditions such as cold, flue, fever, and bronchial infections. In the current investigation, we evaluated the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of essential oil extracts from three species of Eucalyptus employing various standard experimental test models. Using acetic acid-induced writhes in mice and hot plate thermal stimulation in rats, it was shown that the essential oils of Eucalyptus citriodora (EC), Eucalyptus tereticornis (ET), and Eucalyptus globulus (EG) induced analgesic effects in both models, suggesting peripheral and central actions. In addition, essential oil extracts from the three Eucalyptus species produced anti-inflammatory effects, as demonstrated by inhibition of rat paw edema induced by carrageenan and dextran, neutrophil migration into rat peritoneal cavities induced by carrageenan, and vascular permeability induced by carrageenan and histamine. However, no consistent results were observed for some of the parameters evaluated, both in terms of activities and dose-response relationships, reflecting the complex nature of the oil extracts and/or the assay systems used. Taken together, the data suggest that essential oil extracts of EC, ET, and EG possess central and peripheral analgesic effects as well as neutrophil-dependent and independent anti-inflammatory activities. These initial observations provide support for the reported use of the eucalyptus plant in Brazilian folk medicine. Further investigation is warranted for possible development of new classes of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs from components of the essential oils of the Eucalyptus species.
KW - Analgesic
KW - Anti-inflammatory
KW - Essential oils
KW - Eucalyptus
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jep.2003.09.007
DO - 10.1016/j.jep.2003.09.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 14611892
AN - SCOPUS:0242637150
SN - 0378-8741
VL - 89
SP - 277
EP - 283
JO - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
JF - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
IS - 2-3
ER -