Abstract
Tapentadol (TAP) mediates analgesic activity through dual mechanisms: µ opioid receptor (MOR) agonistic activity and noradrenaline reuptake inhibition. Reports show that TAP produces antinociceptive activity in various rodent models of pain. Emerging clinical trials have also reported TAP as an effective analgesic in multiple disease associated pain states. Burn injury induces debilitating pain for which morphine is extensively used as an analgesic. Because of the side effects profile of morphine, there is a continuous search for alternative analgesics to treat burn pain. To the knowledge of authors, there are no reports about the effect of TAP on burn pain. In the present study, we examined the acute analgesic effect of TAP on burn pain and compared it to morphine. Thermal pain was induced in anesthetized adult male Sprague-Dawley rats by placing a pre-heated (100 °C) metal probe for 30 sec on the right hind paw. On day 3 post-injury, rats received a single injection of either saline (0.5 mL), TAP (10 mg/Kg), or MOR (10 mg/Kg) subcutaneously. Antinociceptive activity, changes in paw withdrawal latency (PWL), following treatment was measured at 30, 60, and 120 min post-injury by Hargreaves thermal test. Rats were visually observed for any sedative effects of TAP and MOR. Thermal injury induced thermal allodynia in all groups of rats (P 0.05). Morphine-treated rats showed a significant increase in PWL at all time points when compared to saline and TAP-treated rats (P
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