Background and Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic effect of the hydro-alcoholic extract of Pycnocycla CAESPITOSAas a herbal medicine in comparison with morphine and aspirin.Subjects and Methods: In this study male waster rats weighing in range of 170-200g were used. The hydro-alcoholic extract prepared by ethanol 70% (V/V) using maceration method. Animals divided into eight groups (n=6). The treatment groups received 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg/Kg extract, negative control group received 5ml/Kg normal saline, positive control groups received morphine (2.5mg/Kg) or aspirin (300mg/Kg) and last group received extract (600mg/Kg) and naloxone (1mg/Kg) intraperitonialy respectively After 30 min all groups received 50 mlformalin 2.5% in right hid paw subcutaneously and analgesia behaviors were scored.Results: Following administration of all doses of the extract produced analgesic effect at all periods of experiment except the first five min in comparison with negative control group. The most effective dose of extract (600mg/kg) and aspirin showed same analgesic effect in first phase of pain and there were no significant differences between extract with morphine and aspirin in phase 2 of pain. Naloxan only reduced the analgesic effect of extract in phase 2 of pain.Conclusion: It can be concluded that extract may produce it’s analgesic effect through opioid receptors.

Hydroalcoholic extract and essential oil of aerial parts of Pycnocycla CAESPITOSA have spasmolytic activity on rat ileum contractions. The objective of this research was to separate fractions of total hydroalcoholic extract of P. CAESPITOSA guided by their spasmolytic activity on rat uterus. Aerial parts of P. CAESPITOSA were extracted with ethanol. The concentrated extract was subjected to column chromatography and thin layer chromatography (TLC) for isolation fractions, then one of the bioactive fractions was subjected to further isolation to find its active components. Five fractions were obtained (Fr.1-Fr.5) and their anti-spasmodic activities were examined on uterus contraction induced by KCl (80 mM) and compared with ritodrine. In addition, spasmolytic effect of Fr.4 (one of the bioactive fractions) was determined on rat uterus induced by oxytocin (0.0005 IU/mL) and compared with ritodrine. Hydroalcoholic extract of P. CAESPITOSA (0.032-2 mg/mL) reduced the responses to KCl but the inhibitory effect was not complete with 2 mg/mL extract in the bath. Four fractions (Fr.1, Fr.2, Fr.3 and Fr.4) (32-500mg/mL) inhibited rat uterus contractions on the uterus while Fr.4 was slightly more active than others (IC50=146 ± 23 mg/mL). Falcarindiol and isoacetovanillone were identified from Fr.4 using phytochemical methods including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and TLC. In conclusion, in this research bioactivity guided technique was successfully used for separation of active fraction of P. CAESPITOSA. Falcarindiol and isoacetovanillone were identified from the active fraction which inhibited both tonic and rhythmic contractile responses in rat isolated uterus.

Pycnocycla CAESPITOSA is an essential oil-containing plant naturally growing in southwest of Iran. The extract of this plant has been used as remedy in traditional medicine. Another species of Pycnocyla (P. spinosa) possessed antispasmodic activity. The pharmacological objective of this study was to look for relaxant effect of hydroalcoholic extract and essential oil of P. CAESPITOSA on rat isolated ileum contractions for comparison with loperamide. The essential oil and the hydroalcoholic extract were prepared by hydrodistillation and percolation techniques, respectively. For antispasmodic studies a section of rat ileum was suspended in an organ bath containing Tyrode’s solution. The tissue was stimulated with electrical field stimulation (EFS), KCl (80 mM) and acetylcholine (ACh 0.5 mM). The tissue was kept under 1 g tension at 37 oC and continuously gassed with O2. The essential oil content in the aerial parts of P. CAESPITOSA was found to be 0.16 % ml/g. The essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography– mass spectrometry. Seventy constituents, representing 97 % of the oil were identified. The major components of the oil were carvacrol (7.1%), b-eudesmol (6.4 %), ρ-cymene (5.7%), caryophyllene oxide (3.6%), a-pinine (1.4%) and α-phelandrene (1.1%). The hydroalcoholic extract of P. CAESPITOSA inhibited the response to KCl (IC50=48±3 mg/ml), ACh (IC50=61±14.7 mg/ml) and EFS (IC50=77±17 mg/ml) in a concentration-dependent manner. The essential oil of P. CAESPITOSA also inhibited rat ileum contractions. The IC50 values for KCl, ACh and EFS were 9.2±1.2 mg/ml, 7.6±0.8 mg/ml and 6.4±0.8 mg/ml, respectively.The inhibitory effect of both the essential oil and the extract were reversible. This research confirms the antispasmodic activity of both the essential oil and the extract of P. CAESPITOSA on smooth muscle contraction of ileum.

For the preparation of Flora of Iran Caryophyllaceae: Paronychioideae, the herbarium specimens in the herbarium of Research Institute of Forests and Rang1ands (TARI) were identified. Among them a specimen that has been collected from Lordegan, Chahar Mahale Bakhtiari is named P. lordeganica and described as a new species from Iran. This species is compared with P. CAESPITOSA Stapf from Iran and P. boissieri Rouy and P. mesopotamica Chaudhri from the other countries as the closest relatives.