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Abstract
Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. (Lamiaceae), which is named ‘Guang-Huo-Xiang’ in Chinese, has various therapeutic functions to remove dampness, relieve summer-heat and exterior syndrome, stop vomiting, and stimulate appetite. Patchouli oil is the essential oil of Pogostemonis herba. This study is aimed to investigate the antinociceptive and anti-allergy activities of patchouli oil. The antinociceptive activity of patchouli oil (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) was evaluated using the acetic acid-induced writhing test (NIH mice) and the hot-plate test (NIH mice), and those for anti-allergy activity were tested using Schultz–Dale reaction, the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) test, and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) test. All doses of patchouli oil could significantly (p<0.05) extend writhing latent period and moderately decrease writhing frequency. In the hot-plate test, patchouli oil treatment significantly (p<0.01) increased the latency period at all three doses at 30, 60, and 90-minute time intervals compared with the control group. Patchouli oil could remarkably (p<0.01) inhibit the contraction induced by the Schultz–Dale reaction. Moreover, patchouli oil at all doses significantly (p<0.01) inhibited the PCA reaction induced by Sprague–Dawley rat anti-ovalbumin serum and the DTH reaction induced by the 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene when comparing with those of the control group. The findings suggested that patchouli oil may provide additional evidence for its potential uses as antinociceptive and anti-allergy agents.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Grant 81173534 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and Grant 2009A030100014 from the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (DSTGP). The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NSFC or DSTGP.