Effect of the leaf essential oil from Cinnamosma madagascariensis Danguy on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure in rats

In the Malagasy traditional practices, the smoke from burning leaves of Cinnamosma madagascariensis Danguy is inhaled to treat brain disorders such as dementia, epilepsy and headache. In the present work, we have evaluated the in vivo anticonvulsant effects of the essential oil from leaves of C. madagascariensis (CMEO). CMEO was isolated by steam distillation. The anticonvulsant activity of CMEO (0.4 and 0.8 mL/kg bw) administered subcutaneously was evaluated on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in Wistar rats; diazepam was used as positive control. Linalool, limonene and myrcene were the major CMEO constituents. At the dose of 0.8 mL/kg, CMEO completely arrested the PTZ-induced convulsions with moderate sedative effects. The traditional anticonvulsant use of C. madagascariensis was confirmed allowing us to candidate molecules from CMEO as potential drugs to treat convulsions associated with strong agitation.