Anti-inflammatory effects of chamomile essential oil in mice

Abstract

Essential oils are plant secondary metabolites with positive pharmacological properties, e.g. anti-oxidative, antimicrobial or immunomodulative, but they can have toxic and allergic effects as well. The aim of this study was to analyze anti-inflammatory effects of chamomile essential oil dietary administration in carrageenan paw oedema and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) colitis. Mice received chamomile essential oil in three concentrations (5000, 2500 and 1250 ppm) in the standard rodent diet starting two weeks before induction of carrageenan paw oedema and TNBS colitis. Dietary supplementations with 5000 ppm of chamomile essential oil significantly reduced both the oedema and the weight of mice paws compared with control. The same dose of chamomile essential oil showed protective effect on colonic mucosa and improved macroscopic signs of TNBS-induced colonic inflammation. Bacterial translocation from the lumen into the mesenteric lymph nodes was significantly reduced in mice treated with 5000 ppm and 2500 ppm concentrations of chamomile essential oil. Overall our data indicate that chamomile essential oil is able to improve some parameters of murine experimental inflammatory models depending on the concentration used.