Study on the Chemical Constituents and Anti-inflammatory Activity of Essential Oil of Petiveria alliacea L.

Aims: To study and report the chemical constituents and anti-inflammatory activity of essential oil of Petiveria alliacea L (Phytolaccaceae) from Nigeria.

Study Design: The study involves the distillation of essential oil from the leaf of P. alliacea, characterization of the chemical constituents of the essential oil and the evaluation of its anti-inflammatory potential.

Place and Duration of Study: Leaves of P. alliacea were collected at Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos state, Nigeria, in June 2016. Male Wistar rats were obtained and accommodated at the animal facility of Biochemistry Department Lagos state University, Ojo, Nigeria. The experiment lasted till October 2016.

Methodology: Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of air-dried and pulverized leaves of P. alliacea. The distilled colourless oil was analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The anti-inflammatory activity was determined on fresh egg albumins over 4 h by measurement of rat paw edema according to established procedure.

Results: Eleven compounds representing 99.1% of the oil content were identified in the essential oil of P. alliacea. The main constituents were phytol (56.1%), citronellol (16.0%) and (Z, Z)-α-farnesol (14.6%). In the egg albumin-induced edema, essential oils of P. alliacea induced time dependent in paw edema. The anti-inflammatory activity was non-significant (P= .05) from the 1st h to the 3rd h after egg albumin injection at 1 mL of 2% dose level while the maximum inhibition (P < .001) was observed after 4 h. At this hour, the inhibition was more pronounced than Diclofenac sodium injection.

Conclusion: The chemical constituents of P. alliacea essential oil were found to differ from previous studies. The potent anti-inflammatory activity of essential oils of P. alliacea may provide further information on the biological uses of P. alliacea.