Biomedicine & Preventive Nutrition 1 (2011) 216–222 Original article Modulation of topical inflammation and visceral nociception by Vanillosmopsis arborea essential oil in mice Gerlânia de Oliveira Leite a , Laura Hévila Inocêncio Leite a , Renata de Souza Sampaio a , Mariana Késsia Andrade Araruna a , Fábio Fernandes Galvão Rodrigues a , Irwin Rose Alencar de Menezes a , José Galberto Martins da Costa a , Adriana Rolim Campos b,∗ a Universidade Regional do Cariri, Departamento de Química Biológica, 63105-000, Crato, CE, Brazil b Vice-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduac ¸ ão, Universidade de Fortaleza, Av. Washington Soares, 1321, CEP 60811-905, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil article info Article history: Received 25 April 2011 Accepted 19 June 2011 Keywords: Vanillosmopsis arborea Essential oil Ear edema Visceral pain abstract Vanillosmopis arborea Baker is a native tree from Chapada do Araripe located in Crato city, state of Ceará, being a potential source of essential oil containing -bisabolol. The study examined the anti- inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of the essential oil from Vanillosmopsis arborea bark (EOVA). The anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated on acute models of dermatitis induced by Croton oil, arachi- donic acid, phenol and capsaicin, respectively, in mouse ear. EOVA was assessed in established mouse models of visceral nociception. Mice were pretreated orally with EOVA, and the pain-related behav- ioral responses to several noxious agents were analyzed. Similar to dexamethasone and indomethacin, topically applied EOVA potently inhibited the dermatitis. EOVA was effective in all models of visceral nociception. In mustard oil model, the antinociception produced by 200 mg/kg EOVA was found to be L-NAME-, glibenclamide-, ondasetron-, yohimbine and ruthenium red-resistant. Mice showed no signif- icant alterations in either locomotion frequency, indicating that the observed antinociception is not a consequence of motor abnormality. Collectively, the present results suggest that EOVA may be a potent anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive agent. © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Vanillosmopsis arborea Baker, popular known as “candeeiro”, is a small tree which grows in the Araripe National Forest, in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Its wood has a strong odor of chamomile and burns easily with a strong flame [28]. Phytochemical stud- ies of the essential oil revealed the presence of a high content of bisabolol [17] and experimental investigations demonstrated the gastroprotective [20], larvicidal [9], antimicrobial, antifungical and anti-inflammatory activities [24] and it is popularly used as a repel- lent. Earlier studies indicated that candeeiro is not potentially toxic [29]. V. arborea bark essential oil has not been tested in the mouse ear models of inflammation. These models evaluate whether phar- maceutical agents or natural products may block the inflammatory response to topical noxious agents. Because V. arborea can be used as an ingredient in cosmeceutical products that are applied to the ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 85 3477 3274; fax: +55 85 3477 3056. E-mail address: adrirolim@unifor.br (A.R. Campos). skin, it is worthwhile to test the essential oil activity in these mod- els. Visceral pain is the most common form of pain for which the patients often seek medical care. Despite the considerable advances in knowledge regarding the basic mechanisms underly- ing the visceral pain and visceral hyperalgesia, no new effective therapies for abdominal pain have been discovered. An analgesic effect of “candeeiro” using the acetic acid-induced writhing test has been described earlier [8], but it is not considered a valid model of visceral nociception since it affects unknown somatic and visceral structures [19]. An alternative model of acute vis- ceral pain in the mouse employs the intracolonic instillation of capsaicin, mustard oil or formalin or intraperitoneal cyclophos- phamide, that produce visceral pain-related behaviors such as licking of the abdomen, stretching the abdomen, squashing of the lower abdomen against the floor and abdominal retractions, which can be quantified [19,31]. So far, our group indicated a visceral antinociceptive activity of V. arborea essential oil against the vis- ceral nociception induced by cyclophosphamide [21]. Keeping in view the high content of -bisabolol in V. arborea bark essential oil, the aim of our study was to determine whether V. arborea mitigates ear edema- and visceral nociception-induced by different noxious agents. 2210-5239/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.bionut.2011.06.001