Antinociceptive Activity of a Novel Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (M-5011) with Low Ulcerogenic Effects in Mice

Abstract

Both analgesic and ulcerogenic activities of d-2-[4-(3-methyl-2-thienyl)phenyl] propionic acid (M-5011), a novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), were compared with those of indomethacin (IND), ketoprofen (KP), diclofenac sodium (DIF), zaltoprofen (ZLT) and tiaprofenic acid (TIA) in mice. All orally administered NSAIDs including M-5011 inhibited kaolin-induced writhing in a dose-dependent manner. M-5011 had an effective antinociceptive activity (ED50 value) of 0.63 mg/kg, being more potent than ZLT (16.80 mg/kg) and TIA (4.78 mg/kg), equipotent to DIF (0.68 mg/kg), and less potent than IND (0.21 mg/kg) and KP (0.28 mg/kg). All drugs tested significantly reduced peritoneal 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α) levels at the peak kaolin-induced writhing time (7.5 min post-kaolin injection) without affecting peritoneal bradykinin (BK) levels. Antinociceptive effects of all drugs were closely correlated with inhibition of peritoneal 6-keto-PGF1α levels. Ulcerogenic activities (UD50 value) of M-5011 in the stomach and small intestines were 88.23 and 46.09 mg/kg, respectively. UD50 values of other drugs in the stomach and small intestines were as follows: 8.96 and 4.78 mg/kg, 20.04 and 10.75 mg/kg, 4.19 and 2.24 mg/kg, 62.86 and 46.55 mg/kg, and 110.92 and 54.78 mg/kg for IND, KP, DIF, TIA, and ZLT, respectively. Thus, the safety indexes (UD50/ED50) of the stomach (or small intestine) for M-5011, IND, KP, DIF, TIA and ZLT were 140.05 (73.16), 42.67 (22.76), 71.57 (38.39), 6.16 (3.29), 13.15 (9.74) and 6.60 (3.26), respectively. These findings suggest that M-5011 is a useful NSAID that shows potent antinociceptive effects with low ulcerogenic activities.