Phytochemical screening, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of Chrysopogon zizanioides essential oil

Abstract

Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty, Poaceae, is a plant widely used in northeast Brazil in folk medicine for the treatment of various pathological conditions, including infl ammatory pain. The present study evaluated the antinociceptive and antiinfl ammatory effects of C. zizanioides essential oil (EO) in rodents. EO was further characterized by GC/MS. The major components of EO were identifi ed as khusimol (19.57%), E-isovalencenol (13.24%), α-vetivone (5.25%), β-vetivone (4.87%) and hydroxy-valencene (4.64%). Following intraperitoneal injection (i.p.), EO at 50 and 100 mg/kg signifi cantly reduced the number of writhes (51.9 and 64.9%, respectively) and the number of paw licks during phase 2 (56.7 and 86.2%, respectively) of a formalin model when compared to control group animals. However, EO-treated mice were ineffective at all doses in hot-plate and rota-rod tests. The EO inhibited the carrageenan-induced leukocyte migration to the peritoneal cavity in a dose-dependent manner (34.7, 35.4, and 62.5% at doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively). In the paw edema test, the EO (100 mg/kg) inhibited all three phases of the edema equally well, suggesting that the EO has a non-selective inhibitory effect on the release or actions of these mediators. Our results suggest possible antinociceptive and antiinfl ammatory effects of the EO.