Muscle Relaxing Activity of Hyssopus officinalis Essential Oil on Isolated Intestinal Preparations

Mei Lu; Lucia Battinelli; Claudia Daniele; Cristiana Melchioni; Giuseppe Salvatore; Gabriela Mazzanti

doi:10.1055/s-2002-23139

Planta Medica, Table of Contents

Planta Med 2002; 68(3): 213-216
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-23139

Original Paper

Pharmacology
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Muscle Relaxing Activity of Hyssopus officinalis Essential Oil on Isolated Intestinal Preparations

Mei Lu¹ , Lucia Battinelli¹ , Claudia Daniele¹ , Cristiana Melchioni² , Giuseppe Salvatore³ , Gabriela Mazzanti¹

¹Department of Pharmacology of Natural Substances and General Physiology, University ”La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
²Department of Chemistry, University ”La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
³Department of Comparative Toxicology and Ecotoxicology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy

Abstract

The muscle relaxing activity of the essential oil of Hyssopus officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) and some of its main components (isopinocamphone, limonene and β-pinene) was studied on isolated preparations of guinea-pig and rabbit intestine. The essential oil and isopinocamphone inhibited the acetylcholine- and BaCl₂-induced contractions in guinea-pig ileum in a concentration-dependent manner (IC₅₀ 42.4 μg/ml and 61.9 μg/ml to acetylcholine; 48.3 μg/ml and 70.4 μg/ml to BaCl₂) whereas limonene or β-pinene left tissue contraction unchanged. In guinea-pig ileum H. officinalis essential oil also blocked the contractions induced by CaCl₂. In isolated rabbit jejunum the essential oil reduced the amplitude of spontaneous movements and decreased the basal tone; neither haemoglobin, methylene blue, N ^ω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or propranolol blocked the myorelaxant effect.

Key words

Hyssopus officinalis L. - Lamiaceae - essential oil - isopinocamphone - muscle relaxing activity

Full Text

References

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Gabriela Mazzanti

Dipartimento di Farmacologia delle Sostanze Naturali e Fisiologia Generale

University ”La Sapienza„

P.le Aldo Moro,5

00185, Rome, Italy

Phone: +39-06-4991-2903

Fax: +39-06-4991-2480

Email: gabriela.mazzanti@uniroma1.it