antispasmodic effect of aerial part of teucrium polium l. essential oil on rat isolated ileum in vitro

teucrium polium l. (lamiaceae) is used in the traditional medicine of iran for the treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. the essential oil from the aerial parts of t polium was assessed for antispasmodic activity and compared with the effect of atropine and dicyclomine. acetylcholine and kc i were used for induction of contraction on rat isolated ileum. teucrium polium essential oil (tpeo) at concentrations of 8.6 to 34.4 µg/ml attenuated the maximum inducible response to acetylcholine concentration-response curve. it also inhibited the response to 80 mm kc i in a concentration dependent manner (pd2= 1.2±0 .13). dicyclomine (3.46 & 34.6 ng/ml) also reduced the response to acetylcholine on rat isolated ileum and inhibited kc1-induced contractions while atropine only inhibited the response to acetylcholine. this study shows that tpeo is a relaxant of rat isolated ileum and may have some clinical benefits for gastrointestinal disorders such as colic.