Renewed interest in natural products as potential source of drugs led us to investigate on both the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activity of Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau (bergamot) essential oil (BEO). Carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats was used as an experimental model of inflammation. Because of the toxicity of furocoumarins, we performed our study by using the BEO fraction deprived of these compounds (BEO-FF). Treatment with BEO-FF led to a significant inhibition of paw edema induced by a sub-plantar injection of carrageenan. Moreover, histological examination of BEO-FF-treated rat paw biopsies showed a reduction of pathological changes typical of edema. Pre-treatment with BEO-FF significantly reduced interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels in the paw homogenates, as well as nitrite/nitrate and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) content in exudates. In addition, BEO-FF possesses antioxidant properties, as determined by cell-free assays. Furthermore, results of the writhing test showed that BEO-FF elicited a pronounced analgesic response, as demonstrated by a significant inhibition of constrictions in mice receiving acetic acid, with respect to control animals, whereas the results of the hot plate test suggested that the supra-spinal analgesia participates in the anti-nociceptive effect of BEO-FF. Our study indicates that BEO-FF exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects, and suggests its potential role as an anti-edemigen and analgesic drug.

中文翻译：

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佛手柑精油抗炎活性的机制及其抗伤害作用。

对天然产物作为潜在药物来源的兴趣再次引起我们对柑橘柑橘的抗炎和抗伤害感受活性的研究Risso et Poiteau（佛手柑）精油（BEO）。角叉菜胶诱发的大鼠爪水肿被用作炎症的实验模型。由于呋喃香豆素的毒性，我们通过使用不含这些化合物的BEO馏分（BEO-FF）进行了研究。用BEO-FF进行治疗可显着抑制角叉菜胶足底下注射引起的爪水肿。此外，经BEO-FF处理的大鼠爪活检的组织学检查显示，典型的水肿病理改变有所减轻。用BEO-FF进行预处理可显着降低爪匀浆以及亚硝酸盐/硝酸盐和前列腺素E ₂（PGE ₂）中的白介素（IL）-1β，IL-6和肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α水平）中的内容。此外，BEO-FF具有抗氧化剂特性，这是通过无细胞试验确定的。此外，扭体试验的结果表明，与对照动物相比，BEO-FF引起明显的镇痛反应，这在接受乙酸的小鼠中显着抑制收缩方面得到了证明，而热板试验的结果表明，同上。脊髓镇痛参与BEO-FF的抗伤害感受作用。我们的研究表明，BEO-FF发挥抗炎和抗伤害感受的作用，并表明其作为抗edemigen和止痛药的潜在作用。