Chemical composition, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of essential oil from the roots of Illicium lanceolatum.

Illicium lanceolatum is a popular aromatic and medicinal plant in China. Essential oil from the roots of I. lanceolatum, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analysed by GC-MS. The essential oil was dominated by phenylpropenes. The major components were myristicin (17.63%), α-asarone (17.23%), methyl isoeugenol (11.19%), apiol (8.82%) and isolongifolol (5.94%). When investigated using acetic acid-induced abdominal writhe models and the xylene-induced ear oedema model, the essential oil showed significantly antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. The results indicate that the essential oil may contain the bioactive components of I. lanceolatum. This is the first report on the chemistry, antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of I. lanceolatum.