The demand for the development of novel medicines with few side effects and no proarrhythmic properties is increasing. Extensive research on herbal extracts has been conducted with the expectation that the compounds will exert precise effects without harmful side effects. Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl. essential oil (EO) possesses antiarrhythmic properties similar to those of class 1B antiarrhythmics, such as prolonging myocardial activation of the QRS complex and shortening the QT interval. In this study, we determined the kinetic profile of EO phytocompounds and the effects of EO on heart electrical activity and arterial blood pressure. For this study, we chose to use local breed pigs that were anaesthetized. The effects of an intravenous bolus of EO on ECG parameters, arterial blood pressure, heart rate variability, and blood levels of haematological and biochemical parameters were registered and evaluated. Following an intravenous injection of a bolus, EO exerted a vasodilatory effect, resulting in significant reductions in arterial blood pressure. EO also increased the heart rate and altered ECG parameters. The bolus of EO prolonged the QRS complex, shortened the QT interval, and nonmonotonically altered the PQ interval. After the administration of a bolus of EO, the activity of the autonomic nervous system was altered. This study confirms that EO possesses similar properties to class 1B antiarrhythmics and exerts a hypotensive effect; it reduces arterial blood pressure possibly by modulating peripheral vascular resistance.
Keywords: Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl.; Sus scrofa domesticus; antiarrhythmic effect; electrophysiological effect; essential oil; haemodynamic effect; herbal medicine; hypotensive effect.