Neuropharmacological activities of fruit essential oil from Litsea cubeba Persoon

Litsea cubeba (Lauraceae) is woody plant endemic to Taiwan that is traditionally used as a spice. In the current study, several behavioral analyses were performed to evaluate the neuropharmacological activity of the essential fruit oil of L. cubeba in ICR mice. Oral administration of 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg of L. cubeba fruit oil significantly prolonged pentobarbitone-induced mouse sleeping time by 20.0, 110.8, and 159.6 %, respectively. In addition, after administration of L. cubeba oil, mice significantly increased the time spent in the open arms and number of entries into the open arms of an elevated plus maze compared to saline-treated mice suggesting that L. cubeba oil has anxiolytic activity. A tail-flick test conducted after treatment of mice with 500 mg/kg L. cubeba fruit oil also suggested that this oil has potent analgetic activity. According to GC/MS analyses, the essential fruit oil of L. cubeba oil consists of 23 compounds. The main components are geranial (37.16 %), neral (28.29 %), and d-limonene (22.90 %). We conclude that L. cubeba oil has a potent effect on the central nervous system of mice.