Antinociceptive effects, acute toxicity and chemical composition of Vitex agnus-castus essential oil

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

1 Division of Physiology, Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, I.R.Iran.

2 Division of Histology, Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, I.R.Iran.

3 Department of Food Hygiene and Aquatics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, I.R.Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) and its essential oil have been traditionally used to treat many conditions and symptoms such as premenstrual problems, mastalgia, inflammation, sexual dysfunction, and pain. In this study, the effects of essential oil extracted from Vitex agnus-castus (EOVAC) leaves were investigated in three behavioral models of nociception in adult male Wistar rats.
Materials and methods: Chemical composition of EOVAC was analyzed using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and also its possible toxicity was determined in mice. Analgesic effect of EOVAC was determined using tail immersion test, formalin test, and acetic acid-induced visceral pain in rats.
Results: EOVAC (s.c.) and morphine (i.p.) significantly (p<0.05) reduced pain responses in both formalin and tail immersion tests. In the study of evolved mechanisms, pretreatment with naloxone or atropine significantly (p <0.05) reversed the essential oil-induced analgesia in both formalin and tail immersion tests. Moreover, EOVAC and Piroxicam produced significant (p<0.05) inhibition in the acetic acid-induced writhing response.EOVAC did not show any mortality even at high dose (5 g/kg, p.o.) of administration in toxicity test. Moreover, according to GC-MS results, major components of the EOVAC were α-pinene (14.83%), limonene (10.29%), β-caryophyllene (6.9%), sabinene (5.27%), and β-farnesene (5.9%).
Conclusions: These results suggest that endogenous opioidergic system as well as muscarinergic receptors of cholinergic system may be involve in the antinociceptive activity of Vitex agnus-castus essential oil in these models of pain in rats.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abbott FV, Bonder M. 1997. Options for management of acute pain in the rat. Vet Rec, 140: 553-557.
Ambrosini A, Di Lorenzo C, Coppola G, Pierelli F. 2013. Use of Vitex agnus-castus in migrainous women with premenstrual syndrome: an open-label clinical observation. Acta Neurol Belg, 113: 25-29.
Anand P, Whiteside G, Fowler CJ, Hohmann AG. 2009. Targeting CB2 receptors and the endocannabinoid system for the treatment of pain. Brain Res Rev, 60: 255-266.
Atmaca M, Kumru S, Tezcan E. 2003. Fluoxetine versus Vitex agnus castus extract in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Hum Psychopharmacol, 18: 191-195.
Buchbauer G, Jirovetz L, Jager W, Plank C, Dietrich H. 1993. Fragrance compounds and essential oils with sedative effects upon inhalation. J Pharm Sci, 82: 660-664.
Chavan MJ, Wakte PS, Shinde DB. 2010. Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of Caryophyllene oxide from Annona squamosa L. bark. Phytomedicine, 17: 149-151.
Cho JY, Chang HJ, Lee SK, Kim HJ, Hwang JK, Chun HS. 2006. Amelioration of dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice by oral administration of β-caryophyllene, a sesquiterpene. Life Sci, 80: 932-939.
Choudhary MI, Jalil AS, Nawaz SA, Khan KM, Tareen RB, Attaur R. 2009. Anti-inflammatory and lipoxygenase inhibitory compounds from Vitex agnus-castus. Phytoter Res, 23: 1336-1339.
Christaki E, Bonos E, Giannenas I, Florou-Paneri P. 2012. Aromatic plants as a source of bioactive compounds. Agriculture, 2: 228- 243.
Couto VM, Vilela FC, Dias DF, dos Santos MH, Soncini Roseli, Giovani OC Nascimento, Alexandre Giusti-Paiva. 2011. Antinociceptive effect of extract of Emilia sonchifolia in mice. J Ethnopharmacol, 134: 348-353.
D'Antuono LF, Galletti GC, Bocchini P. 2000.Variability of Essential Oil Content and Composition of Origanum vulgare L. Populations from a North Mediterranean Area (Liguria Region, Northern Italy). Ann Bot, 86: 471-478.
De Araújo DAM, Christiane Freitas, Jader SC. 2011. Essential oils components as a new path to understand ion channel molecular pharmacology. Life Sci, 89: 540-544.
Deraedt R, Jouguey S, Delevallée F, Falhaut M. 1980. Release of prostaglandins E and F in an algogenic reaction and its inhibition. Eur J Pharmacol, 61: 17–24.
Dugoua JJ, Seely D, perri D, Koren G, Mills E. 2008. Safety and efficacy of chaste tree (Vitex agnus castus) during pregnancy and lactation. Can J Pharmacol, 15: 74-79.
Ghannadi A, Bagherinejad MR, Abedi D, Jalali M, Absalan B, Sadeghi N. 2012. Antibacterial activity and composition of essential oils from Pelargonium graveolens L’Her and Vitex agnus-castus L. Iran J Microbiol, 4: 171-176.
Gertsch J, Leonti M, Raduner S, Racz I, Chen JZ, Xie XQ, Altmann KH, Karsak M, Zimmer A. 2008. Beta-caryophyllene is a dietary cannabinoid. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 26: 9099-9104.
Ghelardini C, Galeotti N,  Mannelli LDC, Mazzanti G, Bartolini A. 2001. Local anaesthetic activity of β-caryophyllene. Il Farmaco, 56: 387-389.
Guimarães AG, Quintans JSS, Quintans-Júnior LJ. 2013. Monoterpenes with analgesic activity- a systematic review. Phytother Res, 27: 1-15.
Jones PG, Dunlop J. 2007. Targeting the cholinergic system as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of pain. Neuropharmacology, 53:197-206.
Hashimoto S, Uchiyama K, Maeda M, Ishitsuka K, Furumoto K, Nakamura Y. 1988. In vivo and in vitro effects of zinc oxide-eugenol (ZOE) on biosynthesis of cyclo-oxygenase products in rat dental pulp. J Dent Res, 67: 1092-1096.
Khalilzadeh E, Tamaddonfard E, Farshid AA, Erfanparast A. 2010. Microinjection of histamine into the dentate gyrus produces antinociception in the formalin test in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 97: 325–332.
Le Bars D, Gozariu M, Cadden SW. 2001. Animal models of nociception. Pharmacol Rev, 53: 597-652.
Lima DF, Brandão MS, Moura JB, Leitão JM R S, Carvalho FAA, Miúra LMCV, Leite JRSA, Sousa DP, Almeida FRC. 2012. Antinociceptive activity of the monoterpene α-phellandrene in rodents: possible mechanisms of action. J Pharm Pharmacol, 64: 283–292.
Mahmoudi R, Zare P, Hassanzadeh P, Nosratpour S. 2014. Effect of Teucrium polium essential oil on the physicochemical and sensory properties of probiotic yoghurt. J Food Process Pres, 38: 880-888.
Nasri S, Ebrahimi S. 2006. Medical effect of Vitex agnus- castus. Journal of Babol University of medical Science, 7: 49-53.
Ness TJ. 1999. Models of visceral nociception. Inst Lab Anim Res J, 40: 119-128.
Omote K, Kawamata T, Kawamata M, Namiki A. 1998. Formalin-induced release of excitatory amino acids in the skin of the rat hind paw. Brain Res, 787: 161-164.
Park CK, Kim K, Jung SJ, Kim MJ, Ahn DK, Hong SD, Kim JS, Oh SB. 2009. Molecular mechanism for local anesthetic action of eugenol in the rat trigeminal system. Pain, 144: 84-94.
Peana AT, D'Aquila PS, Chessa ML, Moretti MD, Serra G, Pippia P. 2003. (-)-Linalool produces antinociception in two experimental models of pain. Eur J Pharmacol, 460: 37-41.
Prilepskaya VN, Ledina AV, Tagiyeva AV, Revazova FS. 2006. Vitex agnus castus: successful treatment of moderate to severe premenstrual syndrome. Maturitas, 55: S55–S63.
Ramezani M, Amin GH, Jalili E. 2010. Antinociceptive and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Hydroalcohol Extract of Vitex agnus castus Fruit. World Acad Sci Eng Technol, 64: 619-621.
Samochowiec L, Glaesmer R, Samochowiec J. 1998.  Einfluss von Monchspfeffer auf die Konzentration von beta-Endorphine im Serum weiblicher Ratten. Ärztez Naturheilverfahren, 39: 213-215.
Saberi M, Rezvanizadeh A, Bakhtiarian A. 2008. The antiepileptic activity of Vitex agnus castus extract on amygdala kindled seizures in male rats. Neurosci Lett, 441: 193-196.
Safa O, Soltanipoor MA, Rastegar S, Kazemi M, Nourbakhsh Dehkordi K, Ghannadi A. 2012. An ethnobotanical survey on hormozgan province, Iran. Avicenna J Phytomed, 3: 64-81.
Sarikurkcu C, Arisoy K, Tepe B, Cakir A, Abali G, Mete E. 2009. Studies on the antioxidant activity of essential oil and different solvent extracts of Vitexagnuscastus L. fruits from Turkey. Food Chem Toxicol, 47(10): 2479-2483.
Sheng YQ, Chiou GCY. 1993. Inhibition of crystallins – induced inflammation in rabbit eyes with five phytogenic compounds. Acta Pharmacol Sin, 14: 13-17.
Shields SD, Cavanaugh DJ, Lee H, Anderson DJ, Basbaum AI. 2010. Pain behavior in the formalin test persists after ablation of the great majority of C-fiber nociceptors. Pain, 151: 422-429.
Sorensen JM, Katsiotis S T. (2000). Parameters influencing the yield and composition of the essential oil from Cretan V. agnus-castus fruits. Planta Medica, 66: 245-250.
Stojkovic D, Sokovic M, Glamoclija J, Dzamic A, Ciric A, Ristic M, Grubišic D. 2011. Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Vitex agnus-castus L. fruits and leaves essential oils. Food Chem, 128: 1017-1022.
Tamaddonfard E, Tajik H, Hamzeh-Gooshchi N. 2008. Effects of curcumin and vitamin C on visceral nociception induced by acetic acid in rats. Med Weter, 64: 883-885.
Tjølsen A, Hole K. 1997. Animal models of analgesia. In: Dickenson, A., Besson, J.M. (ed). The Pharmacology of Pain. Springer-Verlag: Berlin Heidelberg; 1-20.
Upton R. 2001. Chaste tree fruit, Vitex agnus-castus: standards of analysis, quality control, and therapeutics, pp. 13-31, Santa Cruz, CA: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia.
Webster DE, He Y, Chen SN, Pauli GF, Farnsworth NR, Wang ZJ. 2011. Opioidergic mechanisms underlying the actions of Vitex agnus-castus L. Biochem Pharmacol, 81: 170-177.
Yamamoto T, Nozaki-Taguchi N. 2002. The role of cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 in the rat formalin test. Anesth Analg, 94: 962-967.
Zimmermann M. (1983). Ethical guidelines for investigations of experimental pain in conscious animals. Pain, 16, 109-110.
Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine
Volume 5, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
May and June 2015
Pages 218-230

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics