In vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of the essential oil from Tanacetum balsamita L.

Abstract

Tanacetum balsamita locally called Shahesparam is an aromatic plant that grows widely in Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Due to the widespread use of T. balsamita as a pain killer and relief of inflammatory based disorders in Iranian folk medicine and considering the high content of essential oil in T. balsamita aerial parts, we were prompted to investigate the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of T. balsamita essential oil (TBEO) for the first time. The carrageenan-induced Paw Edema was used for inflammation evaluation in rat, and hot-plate method was used for pain assessment in mice. Different doses of TBEO were administered. Morphine and Mefenamic acid were used as the standard drugs in antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory evaluation tests, respectively. TBEO (100 mg/kg) showed significantly anti-nociceptive activity in hot-plate test. The anti-inflammatory activity of TBEO was found to be more than mefenamic acid. The studied oil was analyzed by GC and GC–MS. The major component of the oil was characterized as carvone (39.8%) which might be responsible for the observed activities. The results suggested that TBEO possessed biologically active constituents that had significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects which support the ethno-medicinal claims of the plant application in the management of pain and inflammation.