Neuro-behavioral Profile and Toxicity of the Essential Oil of Dorema ‎ammoniacum Gum as an Anti-seizure, Anti-Nociceptive, And Hypnotic Agent with Memory-‎enhancing Properties in D-Galactose Induced Aging Mice

In this study, we focused on the neuro-behavioral profile, toxicity, and ‎possible mechanisms of action of ‎ Dorema ammoniacum gum essential oil (DAG-EO). For this purpose, passive avoidance and Y-maze tests were performed to evaluate the potential effect ‎of DAG-EO in the attenuation of memory impairment induced by 49 days administration of D-‎galactose and acute injection of scopolamine. Anticonvulsant and anti-nociceptive activities of DAG-EO were evaluated in the pentylenetetrazole and ‎maximal electroshock-induced models of seizure and acetic acid-induced writhing tests, respectively. ‎To find the possible mechanism of action, flumazenil and naloxone were used. ‎Furthermore, the possible side effects were determined in the open field, grip strength, and ‎rotarod tests. Our findings supported that 7-day administration of DAG-EO (50 and 100 mg/kg) improves memory impairment induced following administration of D-galactose and scopolamine. It was also revealed that DAG-EO possesses a dose-dependent sedative-hypnotic (100 mg/kg), anticonvulsant (ED50 ≈ 170 mg/kg), and anti-nociceptive (ED50 ≈ 175 mg/kg) ‎activities possibly mediated via directly and/or indirectly modulation of GABAA and opioid receptors. No side effect was observed except muscle relaxation which was less than that of diazepam. The output of this study confirms anti-seizure, anti-nociceptive, sedative-hypnotic, and memory-enhancing properties of DAG-EO by modulation of GABAA receptors.