Evaluation of the acute toxicity, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effect of Artemisia herba-alba (Asso) essential oil

Artemisia herba-alba (Asso.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant with several therapeutic virtues. This study aimed to determine the toxicological profile as well as to evaluate in vivo the analgesic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effect of Artemisia herba-alba essential oil (A. herba-alba EO). The EO was extracted from the aerial part by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The acute toxicity was determined according to the OECD guidelines 423. The anti-inflammatory effect was investigated by evaluating the paw edema development induced by carrageenan injection. The analgesic effect was assessed according to the number of writhes induced by the intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid (0.6%). A histological study of the brain was carried out to determine the neuroprotective effect of the EO against damage induced by applying various stress factors.Our findings showed that the EO was weakly toxic with a LD50 of 1000 mg/kg. The results of the anti-inflammatory effect showed that the EO reduced significantly (p<0.05) the paw edema in the rat’s paw at 67.7% and 80.48% (after 5h) at the doses of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg respectively. Moreover, the EO significantly decreased (p<0.0001) the number of cramps in mice with a percentage of inhibition of 25.08 % and 48.86% respectively for the doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg. Brain microphotography showed a protective effect of the EO against stress-induced neuroinflammation. The obtained results confirmed the anti-inflammatory, analgesic and neuroprotective effect of Artemisia herba-alba EO.