IMR Press / FBL / Volume 29 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2902047
Open Access Original Research
Calcium Channel Inhibitory Effect of Marjoram (Origanum majorana L.): Its Medicinal Use in Diarrhea and Gut Hyperactivity
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1 Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Pharmacy, Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences, Dammam 34222, Saudi Arabia
3 Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
*Correspondence: n_rehman5@hotmail.com (Najeeb Ur Rehman)
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2024, 29(2), 47; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2902047
Submitted: 6 November 2023 | Revised: 30 December 2023 | Accepted: 5 January 2024 | Published: 4 February 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: The leaves of Origanum majorana (O. majorana) are traditionally renowned for treating diarrhea and gut spasms. This study was therefore planned to evaluate its methanolic extract. Methods: Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the phytochemicals, and Swiss albino mice were used for an in vivo antidiarrheal assay. Isolated rat ileum was used as an ex vivo assay model to study the possible antispasmodic effect and its mechanism(s). Results: The GC-MS analysis of O. majorana detected the presence of 21 compounds, of which alpha-terpineol was a major constituent. In the antidiarrheal experiment, O. majorana showed a substantial inhibitory effect on diarrheal episodes in mice at an oral dosage of 200 mg/kg, resulting in 40% protection. Furthermore, an oral dosage of 400 mg/kg provided even greater protection, with 80% effectiveness. Similarly, loperamide showed 100% protection at oral doses of 10 mg/kg. O. majorana caused complete inhibition of carbachol (CCh, 1 µM) and high K+ (80 mM)-evoked spasms in isolated ileal tissues by expressing significantly higher potency (p < 0.05) against high K+ compared to CCh, similar to verapamil, a Ca++ antagonist. The verapamil-like predominant Ca++ ion inhibitory action of O. majorana was further confirmed in the ileal tissues that were made Ca++-free by incubating the tissues in a physiological salt solution having ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a chelating agent. The preincubation of O. majorana at increasing concentrations (0.3 and 1 mg/mL) shifted towards the right of the CaCl2-mediated concentration-response curves (CRCs) with suppression of the maximum contraction. Similarly, verapamil also caused non-specific suppression of Ca++ CRCs towards the right, as expected. Conclusions: Thus, this study conducted an analysis to determine the chemical constituents of the leaf extract of O. majorana and provided a detailed mechanistic basis for the medicinal use of O. majorana in hyperactive gut motility disorders.

Keywords
O. majorana
antispasmodic
Ca++ channel blocker
GC-MS
verapamil
CRCs
Funding
PSAU/2023/03/25570/Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University
Figures
Fig. 1.
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