Leaves of Croton adamantinus have been used to treat
inflammation and skin
wounds in the semi-arid area of the Northeast of Brazil. In order to evaluate if the
essential oil (EO) was responsible for the claimed activities; antinociceptive, wound healing and antimicrobial tests were carried out. Twenty constituents were identified in C. adamantinus EO by GC-MS, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR, the major compounds being
methyl-eugenol (14.81%) and
1,8-cineol (13.74%). Antinociceptive activity was evaluated by the
formalin test and the abdominal contortion assay in mice. The EO (50 and 100 mg/kg) decreased the licking time of both phases of the
formalin test when compared to the vehicle, but not to
morphine (7.5 mg/kg). In the abdominal contortion assay, the EO (50 and 100 mg/kg) reduced the number of contortions compared to the vehicle and to
indometacin (10 mg/kg). The wound healing activity was verified also using two experimental models: excisional
wound and dead space. Topical treatment with the EO (1%) increased the
wound contraction from the third day of treatment (compared with
nitrofurazone 0.2%), while systemic treatment (50 mg/kg/day) increased granulation tissue formation and reduced the water content. C. adamantinus EO also showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus in disk diffusion method. These results corroborate the ethnobotanical use of this specie by Brazilian population.