Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of five root extracts of five root extracts of Ban-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy

Abstract

Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy is an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drug in Thai traditional medicine which includes roots of Ma-tum, Phe-ka, Lam-yai, Chare-tare and Khad-lin. We initially determined the antinociceptive property of orally administered the root extracts of Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy (BMY), Aegle marmelos (AM), Oroxylum indicum (OI), Dimocarpus longan (DL), Dolichandrone serrulata (DS) and Walsura trichostemon (WT) in the mouse hot-plate test. Hot-plate latencies were determined in male ICR mice prior to the intraperitoneal administration of normal saline solution, morphine (MO; 10 mg/kg) or oral administration of 2% Tween 80, various doses of BMY (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg), AM, OI, DL, DS and WT (25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg. All doses of BMY, AM (400 mg/kg), DS (200 and 400 mg/kg) and WT (100-400 mg/kg) produced significant analgesic responses that were naloxone-sensitive suggesting opioid-mediated mechanism. In the formalin-induced nociception test, 2.5% formalin (20 µl) was injected into the plantar surface of the left hind paw of each mouse after intraperitoneal administration of NSS and MO or oral administration of 2% Tween 80, indomethacin (IND; 10 mg/kg), various doses of BMY, AM, OI, DL, DS and WT. BMY (250 mg/kg), AM, DS and WT (400 mg/kg) significantly decreased time spent on paw licking during the early phase, while BMY at all doses tested, AM (400 mg/kg), OI (100-400 mg/kg), DL, DS and WT (200-400 mg/kg) significantly decreased time spent on paw licking during the late phase. In the acetic acid-induced writhing response in mice, animals were induced with intraperitoneal injection of 0.6% acetic acid (10 ml/kg) after oral administration of 2% Tween 80, IND, various doses of BMY, AM, OI, DL, DS and WT. All doses of BMY, AM, DS and WT (200 and 400 mg/kg), OI and DL (100-400 mg/kg) significantly decreased the number of writhes compared to vehicle controls. In rota-rod test, the highest doses of BMY, AM, OI, DL, DS and WT did not produce any motor dysfunction in mice after oral administration. Studies then determined the anti-inflammatory property of orally administered BMY, AM, OI, DL, DS and WT using carrageenan-induced paw edema model in mice. All doses of BMY, AM (400 mg/kg), OI, DL and DS (200 and 400 mg/kg) and WT (25-400 mg/kg) significantly reduced mouse paw edema during the second phase of edema suggesting inhibition of prostaglandins (PGs). In prostaglandin E2–induced mouse paw edema test, the highest dose of AM, OI, DL, DS and WT significantly reduced paw edema during 0.5-1.5 hr after PGE2 administration. Altogether, these results support the antinociceptive effects through both central and peripheral mechanisms of BMY, AM, DS and WT. The analgesic mechanism of action seems to be partly related to opioid receptors. The mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect may be due to the interference of all five root extracts on the liberation of PGs or inhibition of PGE2 effects.