| abstract |
A method for the treatment of an inflammatory complaint including the step of administration of a compound of general formulae (I to XII) described herein in figure or mixtures thereof to a subject suffering from said inflammatory complaint. There is also included a therapeutic agent for relief of inflammatory complaints which includes a compound of general formulae (I to XII) as described in figure or mixtures thereof in combination with an appropriate filler which is preferably dicalcium phosphate. The invention also includes within its scope plant extracts which may contain one or more of the above-mentioned compounds and in particular plant extracts of the genus Umbelliferae, celery (Apium graveolens), parsley (Petroselimun hortense) and dill (Anethum graveolens). It is believed that compounds of the above-mentioned formulae and in particular butylphthalide, sedanenolide and sedanolide (in both cis and trans forms otherwise known as essential oils which are mainly derived from plants) mimic the physiological response of essential fatty acids and also their prostaglandin analogues. |