Smyrnium cordifolium as a wild plant is used in
traditional medicine in Iran for the treatment of anxiety and
insomnia. The
anticonvulsant effect of this plant has not been studied to date, therefore this study aimed to evaluate the
anticonvulsant effects of its
essential oil and
curzerene on seizure.
Essential oil of the Smyrnium cordifolium plant was prepared by the hydro-distillation method. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis of the
essential oil revealed its main components.
Anticonvulsant effects of Smyrnium cordifolium
essential oil (SCEO) and
curzerene were examined on mice using the pentylentetrazole model (PTZ).
Flumazenil (2 mg/kg, i.p) and
naloxone (5 mg/kg, i.p) were injected into the relevant groups of mice to realize the
anticonvulsant mechanism of SCEO and
curzerene, respectively. The main identified components of the plant were
curzerene (65.26%), δ-Cadinene (14.39%) and γ-
elemene (5.15%), which comprised approximately 85.28% of SCEO. The ED50 values of SCEO and
curzerene in the PTZ model were 223±15 and 0.25±0.09 mg/kg, respectively.
Curzerene at the dosage of 0.4 mg/kg prolonged the onset time of seizure and decreased the duration of seizure among treated group compared to the saline group. At the dosage of 0.4 mg/kg, seizure and mortality protection rates for the treated group were 100%.
Flumazenil and
naloxone could suppress the
anticonvulsant effects of SCEO and
curzerene. It seems that SCEO and
curzerene are useful for the treatment of
absence seizure and this effect may be related to their effects on GABAergic and
opioid systems.