Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the essential oil of Nepeta crispa. The study was done using the tail-flick and formalin test pain models and the paw oedema model of inflammation. Male Wistar rats were used as the animal model. The essential oil dose-dependently produced analgesia in the acute pain models, including the tail-flick (p < 0.001) and the first phase of the formalin test (p < 0.01). In the late phase of the formalin test, as a model of chronic pain, the essential oil significantly reduced the pain-induced behaviour (p < 0.01). Nepeta crispa essential oil caused potent anti-inflammatory effects in the formalin-induced paw inflammation model and significantly reduced the paw oedema in all applied doses (p < 0.01). Its effects on pain in both the acute and chronic pain models and its anti-inflammatory effect suggest both central and peripheral mechanisms of action for the essential oil obtained from N. crispa.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Iranian Society of Physiology and Pharmacology (ISPP) and Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran for giving financial support to Dr Taskina Ali.