Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of essential oil from Lippia thymoides MART. & SCHAUER (VERBENACEAE)

Lippia thymoides Mart. & Schauer ('alecrim do mato' or 'alecrim do campo') is an aromatic plant used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat inflammation, pain, and fever. This study aimed to investigate the effects of L. thymoides essential oil (OOS) in murine models of nociception and inflammation. OOS did not affect peritonitis, hot plate, or fever models. However, it inhibited abdominal writhing by 74.76 ± 7.0% (p < 0.05). In the formalin test, OOS reduced the paw licking time to 29 ± 1.53 s (p < 0.05) in the first phase and 3.33 ± 1.74 s (p < 0.05) in the second phase. Paw edoema was reduced in animals treated with OOS, with a volume of 0.09 ± 0.038 mL (p < 0.05) at the end of 6 h. Finally, OOS exhibited nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects in murine models. This effect may be related to the pharmacological properties of terpenoids, as reported in the literature.