Ocotea quixos Lam. essential oil: In vitro and in vivo investigation on its anti-inflammatory properties Vigilio Ballabeni a , Massimiliano Tognolini a , Carmine Giorgio a , Simona Bertoni a , Renato Bruni b , Elisabetta Barocelli a, ⁎ a Department of Pharmacological, Biological and Chemical Applied Sciences, University of Parma, Via GP Usberti 27/a, 43100 Parma, Italy b Department of Evolutive and Functional Biology, Sec. Vegetal Biology and Botanic Garden, University of Parma, Via GP Usberti 11/a, 43100 Parma, Italy article info abstract Article history: Received 31 July 2009 Accepted in revised form 16 September 2009 Available online 13 October 2009 Here we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of Ocotea quixos essential oil and of its main components, trans-cinnamaldehyde and methyl cinnamate, in in vitro and in vivo models. Ocotea essential oil and trans-cinnamaldehyde but not methyl cinnamate significantly reduced LPS-induced NO release from J774 macrophages at non-toxic concentrations, inhibited LPS- induced COX-2 expression and increased forskolin-induced cAMP production. The essential oil (30–100 mg/kg os) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (10 mg/kg os) in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema showed anti-inflammatory effect without damaging gastric mucosa. In conclusion we provide the first evidence of a significant anti-inflammatory gastro-sparing activity of O. quixos essential oil. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ocotea quixos Trans-cinnamaldehyde Inflammation NO production 1. Introduction In the context of the development of novel therapeutics from natural sources we focused our attention on the pharmacolog- ical profiling of some essential oils used as herbal remedy in the traditional medicine [1–4]. The chemical characterization of the essential oils performed in these works allowed us to identify the active principles responsible for the pharmacological properties of the overall phytocomplex studied. Among the botanicals examined particular attention was addressed to the essential oil extracted from wild Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm. (Lauraceae) calices whose main components were trans- cinnamaldehyde (27.9%) and methyl cinnamate (21.6%) [5,6]. In a previous investigation the antithrombotic activity evoked in mice by subacute treatment with O. quixos essential oil was related to its ability to inhibit platelet aggregation, clot retraction and vasoconstriction [6]. It was speculated that trans-cinnamaldehyde could be the primary oil's constituent responsible for these effects since it shared a similar activity profile. Actually a number of different biological effects are attributed to trans-cinnamaldehyde from antifungal to anti- microbic and anti-inflammatory activities and they are related to its antioxidant properties and its ability to inhibit NF-κB transcriptional activity [7,8]. Through a number of in vitro studies it has been demonstrated that cinnamaldehyde is able to suppress iNOS expression and NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, IL-1 induced cyclooxygenase 2 activity and PGE 2 production from rat microvascular endothelial cells and ROS release as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in cultured LPS-stimulated monocytes/macrophages [8–11]. All these activities strongly suggest that this agent might possess immuno-modulating properties and lead us to investigate the anti-inflammatory potential of O. quixos essential oil containing trans-cinnamaldehyde as one of its principal constituents. Accordingly, in the current work we assess both the in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory properties of O. quixos oil and of its main components, trans-cinnamaldehyde and methyl cinnamate, evaluating also their gastric tolerability. Fitoterapia 81 (2010) 289–295 ⁎ Corresponding author. Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche, Biolo- giche e Chimiche Applicate, Università di Parma, Via Usberti 27/a, 43100 Parma, Italy. Tel.: +39 0521 905093; fax: +39 0521 905091. E-mail address: elisabetta.barocelli@unipr.it (E. Barocelli). 0367-326X/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2009.10.002 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Fitoterapia journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fitote