• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

Background: Curcumin has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, antifungal, antitumor, and antinociceptive activity when administered systemically. We investigated the analgesic efficacy of intrathecal curcumin in a rat model of inflammatory pain. Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were prepared for intrathecal catheterization. Pain was evoked by injection of formalin solution (5%, $50{\mu}l$) into the hind paw. Curcumin doses of 62.5, 125, 250, and $500{\mu}g$were delivered through an intrathecal catheter to examine the flinching responses. The $ED_{50}$ values (half-maximal effective dose) with 95% confidence intervals of curcumin for both phases of the formalin test were calculated from the dose-response lines fitted by least-squares linear regression on a log scale. Results: In rats with intrathecal administration of curcumin, the flinching responses were significantly decreased in both phases. The slope of the regression line was significantly different from zero only in phase 2, and the $ED_{50}$ value (95% confidence interval) of curcumin was $511.4{\mu}g$ (23.5-1126.5). There was no apparent abnormal behavior following the administration of curcumin. Conclusions: Intrathecal administration of curcumin decreased inflammatory pain in rats, and further investigation to elucidate the precise mechanism of spinal action of curcumin is warranted.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• 제7권5호
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• pp.501-508
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• 2008

Anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Clematidis Radix (CR)-distillates were investigated in three different pain animal models. Highly purified distillate of CR was injected to Zusanli (ST36) acupoint, called CR herb-acupuncture in the Korean traditional medicine. In tail flick latency test, the CR herb-acupuncture treatment did not show a significant effect of relieving acute phasic pain. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of CR herb-acupuncture, inflammatory pain was induced by subcutaneous injection of formalin to the plantar tissue or intra-articular injection of carrageenan to the tibio-tarsal joint in the rats. And the medicinal effect of CR herb-acupuncture was evaluated by analyzing pain behavior such as licking or biting behavior, or by measuring weight distribution ratio between two foot and ankle circumference. In the rat formalin test, the analgesic effect of CR herb-acupuncture was more pronounced in the late phase (for 20 min after the early phase) than in the early phase (for the first 10 min post formalin injection). It also significantly alleviated the carrageenan-induced monoarthritis, in terms of weight distribution ratio and ankle edema. These results revealed that CR herb-acupuncture was effective to treat the inflammatory pain and could be used as an analgesic treatment with an antiinflammatory effect.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.117-124
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• 1997

The analgesic effects of DA-5018, a new caosaucin derivative, were evaluated in various experimental pain models. Drugs were administered subcutaneously or topically. When drugs were administered subcutaneously, 1) the $ED_{50}$ of DA-5018, morphine . HCI, capsaicin and acetaminophen were 0.091-2.0, 0.3-4.3, 1.4-26.5 and 45.4-643 mg/kg, respectively in various pain or inflammatory models including acetic acid writhing, formalin, tail flick, Randall-Selitto, hot plate and crouton oil-induced ear edema test, 2) the AD2 values (the dose for doubling of pain threshold of vehicle control) of DA-5018, capsaicin and ketoprpgin were 1.07 $\pm$ 0. 18, 23.47$\pm$4.46 and 2.97$\pm$0.43 mg/kg in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced arthritic pain model. And by topical application, 1) neither DA-5018 0.3% cream nor Zostrix-HP (capsaicin 0.075%) were effective in formalin test, 2) although DA-5018 0.3% cream significantly inhibited the croton oil-induced ear edema being better than Zostrix-HP and Kenofen (ketoprofen 3%). 3) In FCA model, DA-5018 0.3% cream reversed the decreased pain threshold of arthritic rat from 136.4 g (day 0) to 289.0 g (day 5) and 250.1 g (day 10), which was similar to Zostrix-HP. These results suggest that DA-5018 administered subcutaneously has a potent and broad analgesic spectrum than nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs against acute and chronic pain, and by topical application it exerts comparable analgesic and antiinglammaatory effects to capsaicin cream.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.179-184
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• 2011

Background: The analgesic mechanisms of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors have been explained mainly on the basis of the inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis. However, several lines of evidence suggest that their analgesic effects are mediated through serotonergic or adrenergic transmissions. We investigated the roles of these neurotransmitters in the antinociception of a selective COX-2 inhibitor at the spinal level. Methods: DUP-697, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, was delivered through an intrathecal catheter to male Sprague-Dawley rats to examine its effect on the flinching responses evoked by formalin injection into the hindpaw. Subsequently, the effects of intrathecal pretreatment with dihydroergocristine, prazosin, and yohimbine, which are serotonergic, ${\alpha}1$ adrenergic and ${\alpha}2$ adrenergic receptor antagonists, respectively, on the analgesia induced by DUP-697 were assessed. Results: Intrathecal DUP-697 reduced the flinching response evoked by formalin injection during phase 1 and 2. But, intrathecal dihydroergocristine, prazosin, and yohimbine had little effect on the antinociception of intrathecal DUP-697 during both phases of the formalin test. Conclusions: Intrathecal DUP-697, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, effectively relieved inflammatory pain in rats. Either the serotonergic or adrenergic transmissions might not be involved in the analgesic activity of COX-2 inhibitors at the spinal level.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.256-259
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• 2003

The pet ether extract of Caesalpinia pulcherrima, leaves was studied for its antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic property. The extract at doses of 50 and 200 mg/kg, p.o., significantly (p<0.05) reduced the number of writhing induced by acetic acid and inhibited the late phase (20-30 min) in formalin test in mice. The extract failed to increase the pain threshold level in tail immersion test in mice. In carrageenan induced paw edema in rats and in acetic acid induced increase in vascular permeability test in mice, the extract (50-600 mg/kg, p.o.) failed to produce any significant activity. While in cotton pellet granuloma test, the extract at doses of 200 and 600 mg/kg (p.o.) significantly (p<0.05) reduced the granuloma formation and was comparable to reference drug, dexamethasone. In ethylpheylpropiolate ear edema test 0.5 mg and 1 mg/ear application of extract significantly (p<0.05) inhibited ear edema. In yeast induced hyperthermia in rats, the extract did not produce any reduction in temperature. The results suggest that the extract acts peripherally to produce analgesic action and anti-inflammatory activity through steroidal mechanism.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.303-308
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• 2011

Spirodela polyrrhiza L. Schleid. (Lemnaceae), also known as 'duckweed', is a traditional medicine in Korea. The whole plant is used to treat many diseases, including the common cold, edema, acute nephritis, and urticaria. The present study investigated antinociceptive properties of the EtOAc soluble fraction of S. polyrrhiza (ESP). The antinociceptive activities of ESP were studied using experimental models of pain, including thermal nociception methods, such as the tail immersion test and the hotplate test. Moreover, we studied chemical nociception induced by intraperitoneal acetic acid and subplantar formalin in mice. ESP exhibited dose-dependent antinociceptive activity in both thermal and chemical pain models. In a drug combination test using the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, diminished analgesic activities of ESP were observed, indicating that the antinociceptive activity of ESP is mediated by opioid receptors.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.223-233
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• 2004

Objective: As a manual accupucture method, the twirling-needle treatment has been known more effective in relieving pain than the conventional simple accupuncture treatment. Finding a proper treatment condition is difficult because of the lack of a quantative measurement of the alleviation of pain made by acupuncture. In this research, the authors propose the use of infrared thermal images in a formalin test to quantatively verify the effect of twirling. Methods: After injecting 10%~20% formalin into the tail of rats, the infrared thermal images(ITI) have been obtained to estimate the thermal distribution caused by inflammation. The authors propose a processing method to measure the thermal distribution from the thermal images obtained from the infrared camera as a pain model of the formalin test. Results: The pain model obtained from the infrared thermal image has two phases. The first phase, which is a transient period, is the initial 20 minutes when the pain is developed after the formalin injection. The second phase, which is a steady state, is where the development of pain lasts for 60 minutes or more after the first stage. This characteristic of the proposed model based on ITI is consistent with that of the pain model reported by other researchers whose works are based on the time-course of flinching and licking/biting, following a different concentration of formalin. It is noticed that the response of the thermal distribution obtained from ITI shows very high correlation to the behavioral response in the formalin test performed by Kazuhiro Okuda and four others5). In addition, the authors propose an ITI method to determine the pain-reducing effect of the acupuncture. The thermal distribution obtained from the experiment shows that there is significant pain reducing effect made by the twirling-needle method.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.121-127
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• 2014

Acupuncture is the process of stimulating skin regions called meridians or acupoints and has been used to treat pain-related symptoms. However, the pain-relieving effects of acupuncture may be different depending on acupoints. In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on behavioral responses and c-Fos expression were evaluated using a formalin test in male Sprague-Dawley rats in order to clarify the analgesic effects of three different acupoints. Each rat received manual acupuncture at the ST36 (Zusanli), SP9 (Yinlingquan) or BL60 (Kunlun) acupoint before formalin injection. Flinching and licking behaviors were counted by two blinded investigators. Fos-like immunoreactivity was examined by immunohistochemistry in the rat spinal cord. Manual acupuncture treatment at BL60 acupoint showed significant inhibition in flinching behavior but not in licking. Manual acupuncture at ST36 or SP9 tended to inhibit flinching and licking behaviors but the effects were not statistically significant. The acupuncture at ST36, SP9, or BL60 reduced c-Fos expression as compared with the control group. These results suggest that acupuncture especially at the BL60 acupoint is more effective in relieving inflammatory pain than other acupoints.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.14-20
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• 2013

Background: Nefopam, a non-opiate analgesic, has been regarded as a substance that reduces the requirement for morphine, but conflicting results have also been reported. The inhibition of monoamine reuptake is a mechanism of action for the analgesia of nefopam. The spinal cord is an important site for the action of monoamines however, the antinociceptive effect of intrathecal nefopam was not clear. This study was performed to examine the antinociceptive effect of intrathecal (i.t.) nefopam and the pattern of pharmacologic interaction with i.t. morphine in the formalin test. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with an i.t. catheter, and were randomly treated with a vehicle, nefopam, or morphine. Formalin was injected into the hind-paw 10 min. after an i.t. injection of the above experiment drugs. After obtaining antinociceptive $ED_{50}$ of nefopam and morphine, the mixture of nefopam and morphine was tested for the antinociceptive effect in the formalin test at a dose of 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 of $ED_{50}$, or $ED_{50}$ of each drug followed by an isobolographic analysis. Results: Intrathecal nefopam significantly reduced the flinching responses in both phases of the formalin test in a dose-dependent manner. Its effect, however, peaked at a dose of $30{\mu}g$ in phase 1 (39.8% of control) and $10{\mu}g$ during phase 2 (37.6% of control). The isobolograhic analysis indicated an additive interaction of nefopam and morphine during phase 2, and a synergy effect in antinociception during phase 1. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that i.t. nefopam produces an antinociceptive effect in formalin induced pain behavior during both phases of the formalin test, while interacting differently with i.t. morphine, synergistically during phase 1, and additively during phase 2.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.311-315
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• 2013

Ribes fasciculatum (Saxifragaceae) has been widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of cough, antidote, cold, lacquer poison, and sore throat. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-nociceptive effects of ethyl acetate fraction of Ribes fasciculatum (ERF) in mice. Test results of tail-immersion test and hot plate test revealed that the ERF had strong anti-nociceptive activities on thermal nociception in a dose dependent manner, indicating ERF's anti-nociception on the central pain. Moreover, the acetic acid-induced chemical nociception was also significantly reduced by ERF treatment. This result shows that ERF may also work on the peripheral pain. We further performed formalin test to confirm ERF's anti-nociceptive properties and found that pain responses were significantly decreased by ERF treatment. Interestingly, in the combination test with naloxone, the analgesic activity of ERF was not changed, indicating that the opioid receptor was not involved in the ERF-mediated anti-nociception. These results indicate that ERF might be possibly used as a painkiller for the treatment of nociceptive pains.