Comparative chemical and analgesic properties of essential oils of Cymbopogon nardus (L) Rendle of Benin and Congo.

The chemical and analgesic comparison of essential oils of Cymbopogon nardus (L) Rendle of Benin and Congo was investigated. The chemical analysis wa carried out by using GS/MS for identification of components of the two essential oils while acetic acid-induced writhings, hot plate and tail flick test models were used for analgesic activity. The results showed that the two essential oils exhibited comparable activity on acetic acid-induced writhings, however, the essential oil of Benin induced more significant effect on hot plate model while the Congolese specie showed more effect in the tail flick test. These observations could be explained by some qualitative and/or quantitative differences observed between the constituents of the two essential oils studied.