Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Phytochemical composition, and analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of essential oil of Chamaemelum nobile (Asteraceae L All) in rodents

Olukayode O Aremu¹, Charlotte M Tata¹, Constance R Sewani-Rusike¹, Adebola O Oyedeji², Opeoluwa O Oyedeji³, Benedicta N Nkeh-Chungag⁴

¹Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences; ²Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117; ³Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Fort Hare, Alice; ⁴Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa.

For correspondence:- Benedicta Nkeh-Chungag Email: bnkehchungag@wsu.ac.za

Accepted: 16 September 2018 Published: 31 October 2018

Citation: Aremu OO, Tata CM, Sewani-Rusike CR, Oyedeji AO, Oyedeji OO, Nkeh-Chungag BN. Phytochemical composition, and analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of essential oil of Chamaemelum nobile (Asteraceae L All) in rodents. Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(10):1939-1945 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i10.7

© 2018 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of essential oil of dried flowers of Chamaemelum nobile (Asteraceae L. All) in Swiss mice and Wistar rats, respectively.

Methods: The volatile oil of the dried flowers of C. nobile obtained by hydrodistillation was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Animals were assigned to the following experimental groups: C. nobile (180 mg/kg), ibuprofen (100 mg/kg) and vehicle-treated groups. Chemical and thermal pain models were used for the antinociceptive study in mice while fresh egg albumin-induced acute inflammation model in rats was used for anti-inflammatory study of the essential oil.

Results: The most abundant components of the oil were α-bisabolol (50 %) and farnesene (5.35 %). Oral administration of essential oil (180 mg/kg, po) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced pain and prevented inflammation in the different test models used in this study.

Conclusion: The essential oil of the dried flowers of C. nobile shows in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in rodents, and therefore, possesses potentials for development into effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent.

Keywords: Chamaemelum nobile, Asteracea, essential oil, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive