Journal of Ethnopharmacology 137 (2011) 1528– 1532 Contentslists availableat SciVerseScienceDirect Journal of Ethnopharmacology j ou r n a l homep a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / j e t h p h a r m Spasmolyticactivity of Rosmarinus officinalis L. involves calcium channelsin the guinea pig ileum Rosa Ventura-Martínez a , Oscar Rivero-Osorno a , Claudia Gómez a , María Eva González-Trujano b,∗ a Departamento deFarmacología, Facultad deMedicina, UNAM. Av. Universidad 3000, CiudadUniversitaria, Coyoacán, C.P.04510, México, DF, Mexico b Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología de Productos Naturales, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias del InstitutoNacionalde Psiquiatria“Ramónde la Fuente Mu˜ niz”,Calz. México-Xochimilco 101,Col.SanLorenzo Huipulco, C.P.14370, México, DF, Mexico a r t i c l e i n f o Articlehistory: Received4 June 2011 Receivedin revisedform 15 August 2011 Accepted20 August 2011 Available online 26 August 2011 Keywords: Calciumchannels Folk medicine Guinea-pigileum Rosmarinus officinalisL. Spasmolytic a b s t r a c t Ethnopharmacological relevance: Rosmarinus officinalis L. is a plant usedaroundthe world for its properties to cure pain in several conditions,such as arthritic and abdominal pain or as an antispasmodic; however, there are no scientific studies demonstratingits spasmolyticactivity. Therefore,the aim of the present study was to investigatethe effect of an ethanol extract from Rosmarinus officinalisaerial parts and the possible mechanisminvolved by using rings from the isolatedguineapig ileum (IGPI). Materials andmethods: The IGPI rings were pre-contracted with potassiumchloride (KCl; 60 mM), acetyl- choline (ACh; 1 × 10 −9 to 1 × 10 −5 M) or electrical field stimulation (EFS; 0.3Hz of frequency,3.0ms of duration and 14 V intensity) and testedin the presenceof the Rosmarinus officinalis ethanol extract(150, 300, 600 and 1 200␮g/mL) or a referencedsmooth muscle relaxant (papaverine,30 ␮M). In addition, the possiblemechanismof action was analyzedin the presenceof hexametonium(a ganglionicblocker), indomethacine (an inhibitor of prostaglandins), l-NAME (a selective inhibitor of the nitric oxidesynthase) and nifedipine (a calciumchannel blocker). Results: Rosmarinusofficinalis ethanol extract exhibited a significant and concentration-dependent spasmolytic activity on the contractions induced by KCl (CI 50 =661.06± 155.91␮g/mL); ACh (CI 50 =464.05± 16.85␮g/mL) and EFS (CI 50 =513.72± 34.13␮g/mL). Spasmolytic response of Rosmari- nus officinalis(600␮g/mL) was revertedin the presenceof nifedipine 1 ␮M, but not in the presenceof hexamethonium0.5mM, indomethacine1 ␮M or l-NAME 100␮M. Conclusion:The present results reinforce the use of Rosmarinusofficinalis as antispasmodic in folk medicine. Moreover, it is demonstratedthe involvement of calcium channels in this activity, but not the participationof nicotinic receptors, prostaglandinsor nitric oxide. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Rosmarinus officinalis L. is a speciesof Mediterraneanorigin. It is well known around the world as a common spice for culinary pur- poses(Polunin and Smythies,1973; Davis, 1982). In folk medicine, its aerial parts are used orally to relief pain in renal colic and dys- menorrhoea, and as antispasmodic (Al-Sereiti et al., 1999). A tea made of the boiled leaves is also used to improve digestion and to alleviate stomachache(Romo de Vivar, 1985; Martínez, 1989; Arguetaet al., 1994). In Mexico, it is preparedalso as macerationin ethanol and used topically to relief rheumatic pain. Some studies ∗ Correspondingauthor at: Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría“Ramónde la Fuente Mu ˜ niz”, Calz. México-Xochimilco No. 101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Delegación Tlalpan 14370,México, DF, Mexico. Tel.: +5255 5655 2811; fax: +5255 5655 9980. E-mail addresses: rventuram7@hotmail.com (R. Ventura-Martínez), flea fly500@hotmail.com (O. Rivero-Osorno),goac@servidor.unam.mx (C. Gómez), evag@imp.edu.mx, rventuram7@hotmail.com (M.E. González-Trujano). havereportedits effectsas diuretic (Haloui et al.,2000),antipyretic (Martínez et al., 2004) and as a mood stabilizer (Moss et al., 2003). The powerful antioxidant activity of its constituents sup- ports protection againstdamageinduced by free radicals (Ramírez et al., 2004; Peng et al., 2005). Furthermore, it has been demon- strated that Rosmarinus officinalisproduces antinociceptive effect in experimental models of pain like acid acetic and formalin, but also in the pain-induced functional impairment model in the rat (González-Trujano et al., 2007).Despitethe widespread use of this plant in popular medicine and the pharmacological studies that demonstratetheir antinociceptiveand/or anti-inflammatory activ- ity, there is a lack of information to support its antispasmodic activity. On the other hand, diarrheal diseasesare a major prob- lem in Third World countries and are responsible for the death of millions of people each year (Celia and Mediadora, 1990). For this reason, international organizationsincluding the World Health Organization have encouraged studies pertaining to the treatment and preventionof diarrheal diseases using traditional medical prac- tices, in which medicinal plants like Rosmarinusofficinalis are a 0378-8741/$– seefront matter ©2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.08.047