The
essential oil of Eugenia caryophyllata (
clove oil; Family: Myrtaceae) is used in
dental care as an
antiseptic and
analgesic. The study aims to evaluate the effect of
clove oil on experimental models of
pain and cognition in mice. To observe the acute effects of
clove oil at different doses, the elevated plus maze was used for the assessment of cognition, and the tail flick and
formalin tests were used for the study of
pain. The
formalin test showed that
clove oil (0.1 ml/kg, i.p.) demonstrated significantly reduced
pain response in both the phases. The lower doses (0.025 and 0.05 ml/kg, i.p.) reduced the
formalin-induced
pain response significantly in the second phase only. The tail-flick test showed variable response. The dose 0.1 ml/kg,
clove oil, significantly decreased the tail-flick latency at 30 min and this effect was reversed by
naloxone (1 mg/kg). On the contrary, the dose 0.025 ml/kg of
clove oil, at 30 and 60 min increased the mean tail-flick latency compared to control group, but this effect was not statistically significant. Yet
naloxone significantly (p < 0.05) reversed the effect of
clove oil 0.025 ml/kg at 30 min.
Clove oil (0.025 and 0.05 ml/kg, i.p.) significantly reversed the
scopolamine-induced retention
memory deficit induced by
scopolamine, but
clove oil (0.1 ml/kg, i.p.) significantly reversed both acquisition as well as retention deficits in elevated plus maze induced by the
scopolamine.
Clove oil exhibits reduced
pain response by a predominantly peripheral action as evidenced by
formalin test and the tail flick test showed the involvement of
opioid receptors.
Clove oil also significantly improved
scopolamine-induced retention
memory deficit at all doses.