geraniol, a monoterpene fragrance with promising antioxidant properties: amelioration of oxidative stress in the colon and small intestine of wistar rats

Oxidative stress is a common denominator of the pathogenesis of chronic diseases, and herbal extracts have shown some promise in fighting it. natural agents, which have played a pivotal role in many drug development and research programs, will undergo continual use toward meeting the urgent need to develop effective drugs. an acyclic terpene alcohol with a flowery, rose-like odor called geraniol (trans-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-oktadien-1-ol) is isolated from the essential oils of several aromatic plants which possesses various beneficial medicinal properties. the shifted equilibrium between the pro-oxidant (reactive oxygen species, …) and the antioxidant (vitamin c, sod, …) species triggers oxidative stress which has been linked to numerous inflammatory diseases, the ageing process and carcinogenesis. this experimental study has aimed to investigate the potential antioxidant activities of geraniol in the colon and small intestine of wistar rats. 12 adult male wistar rats (4–5 weeks old) were randomly divided into two groups: control group (gavaged with physiological saline) and geraniol group (gavaged with 100 mg/kg of geraniol twice weekly, 50 mg/kg per dose). at the end of the 56-day period, all rats were anesthetized with intraperitoneal injections of ketamine and xylazine, and then dissected. gastrointestinal tissue including colon and small intestine were sampled and homogenized for measurement of oxidative stress biomarkers including the total antioxidant capacity (tac), superoxide dismutase (sod) and malondialdehyde (mda). as it can be seen in figure 1, oral administration of geraniol has significantly risen tac in small intestine in comparison with control group (p<0.01). on the other hand, sod activity in colon tissues of geraniol-exposed rats has been increased meaningfully (p<0.05). geraniol had no significant effect on mda formation in intestinal tissues. hence, geraniol efficiently elevates the power of antioxidant defense system, leading to a diminution in free radicals. the geraniol affects antioxidant capacity by modulating the levels of oxidative stress markers in intestinal tissues. as a conclusion, the present study indicates a great potential for this monoterpene as a building block for designing and synthesizing new effective agents which, thus, offers huge importance in deriving new drugs development and progressing direction in medicinal chemistry.