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Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent

Oregano and thyme essential oils are used for therapeutic, aromatic and gastronomic purposes due to their richness in active substances, like carvacrol; however, the effects of the latter on the central nervous system have been poorly investigated. The aim of our study was to define the effects of c...

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Autores principales: Zotti, Margherita, Colaianna, Marilena, Morgese, Maria Grazia, Tucci, Paolo, Schiavone, Stefania, Avato, Pinarosa, Trabace, Luigia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6270539/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23708230
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules18066161
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author Zotti, Margherita
Colaianna, Marilena
Morgese, Maria Grazia
Tucci, Paolo
Schiavone, Stefania
Avato, Pinarosa
Trabace, Luigia
author_facet Zotti, Margherita
Colaianna, Marilena
Morgese, Maria Grazia
Tucci, Paolo
Schiavone, Stefania
Avato, Pinarosa
Trabace, Luigia
author_sort Zotti, Margherita
collection PubMed
description Oregano and thyme essential oils are used for therapeutic, aromatic and gastronomic purposes due to their richness in active substances, like carvacrol; however, the effects of the latter on the central nervous system have been poorly investigated. The aim of our study was to define the effects of carvacrol on brain neurochemistry and behavioural outcome in rats. Biogenic amine content in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus after chronic or acute oral carvacrol administration was measured. Animals were assessed by a forced swimming test. Carvacrol, administered for seven consecutive days (12.5 mg/kg p.o.), was able to increase dopamine and serotonin levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. When single doses were used (150 and 450 mg/kg p.o.), dopamine content was increased in the prefrontal cortex at both dose levels. On the contrary, a significant dopamine reduction in hippocampus of animals treated with 450 mg/kg of carvacrol was found. Acute carvacrol administration only significantly reduced serotonin content in either the prefrontal cortex or in the hippocampus at the highest dose. Moreover, acute carvacrol was ineffective in producing changes in the forced swimming test. Our data suggest that carvacrol is a brain-active molecule that clearly influences neuronal activity through modulation of neurotransmitters. If regularly ingested in low concentrations, it might determine feelings of well-being and could possibly have positive reinforcer effects.
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spelling pubmed-62705392018-12-17 Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent Zotti, Margherita Colaianna, Marilena Morgese, Maria Grazia Tucci, Paolo Schiavone, Stefania Avato, Pinarosa Trabace, Luigia Molecules Article Oregano and thyme essential oils are used for therapeutic, aromatic and gastronomic purposes due to their richness in active substances, like carvacrol; however, the effects of the latter on the central nervous system have been poorly investigated. The aim of our study was to define the effects of carvacrol on brain neurochemistry and behavioural outcome in rats. Biogenic amine content in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus after chronic or acute oral carvacrol administration was measured. Animals were assessed by a forced swimming test. Carvacrol, administered for seven consecutive days (12.5 mg/kg p.o.), was able to increase dopamine and serotonin levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. When single doses were used (150 and 450 mg/kg p.o.), dopamine content was increased in the prefrontal cortex at both dose levels. On the contrary, a significant dopamine reduction in hippocampus of animals treated with 450 mg/kg of carvacrol was found. Acute carvacrol administration only significantly reduced serotonin content in either the prefrontal cortex or in the hippocampus at the highest dose. Moreover, acute carvacrol was ineffective in producing changes in the forced swimming test. Our data suggest that carvacrol is a brain-active molecule that clearly influences neuronal activity through modulation of neurotransmitters. If regularly ingested in low concentrations, it might determine feelings of well-being and could possibly have positive reinforcer effects. MDPI 2013-05-24 /pmc/articles/PMC6270539/ /pubmed/23708230 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules18066161 Text en © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Zotti, Margherita
Colaianna, Marilena
Morgese, Maria Grazia
Tucci, Paolo
Schiavone, Stefania
Avato, Pinarosa
Trabace, Luigia
Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent
title Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent
title_full Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent
title_fullStr Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent
title_full_unstemmed Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent
title_short Carvacrol: From Ancient Flavoring to Neuromodulatory Agent
title_sort carvacrol: from ancient flavoring to neuromodulatory agent
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6270539/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23708230
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules18066161
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