Rosewood oil induces sedation and inhibits compound action potential in rodents

Aniba rosaeodora is an aromatic plant which has been used in Brazil folk medicine due to its sedative effect. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the sedative effect of linalool-rich rosewood oil in mice. In addition we sought to investigate the linalool-rich oil effects on the isolated nerve using the single sucrose-gap technique.

Sedative effect was determined by measuring the potentiation of the pentobarbital-induced sleeping time. The compound action potential amplitude was evaluated as a way to detect changes in excitability of the isolated nerve.

The results showed that administration of rosewood oil at the doses of 200 and 300 mg/kg significantly decreased latency and increased the duration of sleeping time. On the other hand, the dose of 100 mg/kg potentiated significantly the pentobarbital action decreasing pentobarbital latency time and increasing pentobarbital sleeping time. In addition, the effect of linalool-rich rosewood oil on the isolated nerve of the rat was also investigated through the single sucrose-gap technique. The amplitude of the action potential decreased almost 100% when it was incubated for 30 min at 100 microg/ml.

From this study, it is suggested a sedative effect of linalool-rich rosewood oil that could, at least in part, be explained by the reduction in action potential amplitude that provokes a decrease in neuronal excitability.