Acute toxicity and central and peripheral analgesic activity of flowers and leaves essential oils of Asteriscus graveolens from South-West Algeria

Abstract

The objective of this study is the evaluation of the central and peripheral analgesic activity of the leaves and flowers Essential Oils (EOs) of Asteriscus graveolens as well as their acute toxicity. The pharmacological tests were performed using an animal model. Acute toxicity was determined by Lorke's method. Central analgesic activity was evaluated by the hot plate test, and peripheral analgesic activity was conducted by the writhing test. The results showed that the EOs of A. graveolens from both organs are weakly toxic. For the central analgesic activity, the results revealed that leaf EO have a remarkable antinociceptive effect compared to flowers EO with a maximum latency time of the animals on the hot plate on the order of 22.5 seconds. Finally, the peripheral analgesic activity revealed a maximum inhibition of abdominal writhing of 99% for flowers EO and 96% for leaves EO. Keywords: Asteriscus graveolens, analgesic activity, toxicity.