| Summary: | Essential oils are natural aromatic substances that contain complex mixtures of many volatile compounds frequently used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. <i>Dacryodes peruviana</i> (Loes.) H.J. Lam is a native species from Ecuador whose anti-inflammatory activity has not been previously reported, thus the aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of <i>D. peruviana</i> essential oil. To that end, essential oil from <i>D. peruviana</i> fruits was isolated by hydrodistillation and characterized physically and chemically. The tolerance of the essential oil was analyzed by cytotoxicity studies using human keratinocytes. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by an arachidonic acid-induced edema model in mouse ear. The predominant compounds in <i>D. peruviana</i> essential oil were α-phellandrene, limonene, and α-pinene, with the three compounds reaching approximately 83% of the total composition. Tolerance studies showed high biocompatibility of this essential oil with human keratinocytes. In vivo studies demonstrated a moisturizing effect and an alleviation of several events occurred during the inflammatory process after topical treatment with <i>D. peruviana</i> essential oil such as decline in skin edema; reduction in leukocytic infiltrate; and decrease in inflammatory cytokines TNFα, IL-8, IL-17A, and IL-23. Therefore, this essential oil could be an attractive treatment for skin inflammation.
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