Neuropharmacological profile and chemical analysis of fresh rhizome essential oil of Curcuma longa (turmeric) cultivated in Southwest Nigeria

(turmeric) is commonly used as spice and also used to treat fever, cough and febrile convulsions in Nigeria. This study determined the chemical composition of the essential oil of and evaluated its neuropharmacological activity in mice. Essential oil of (EOCL) fresh rhizome was obtained by hydrodistillation and its chemical composition determined by GC-MS. Acute toxicity (LD ) profile of the essential oil was determined orally (p.o.) and intraperitoneally (i.p.); and the EOCL (50-200 mg/kg, i.p.) was evaluated for its behavioural, anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant activities using appropriate models in Albino mice (Vom Strain, Jos, Nigeria). Analysis of the oil showed the presence of 23 compounds with turmerone (35.9%) being the major component. The LD values obtained for the mice were 2154 mg/kg, p.o., and 693 mg/kg, i.p. The EOCL (50-200 mg/kg, i.p.) caused significant (p