Abstract
Aconiti Brachypodi Radix, belonging to the genus of Aconitum (Family Ranunculaceae), are used clinically as anti-rheumatic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive in traditional medicine of China. However, its mechanism and influence on nociceptive threshold are unknown and need further investigation. The analgesic effects of ethanolic extract of Aconiti Brachypodi Radix (EABR) were thus studied in vivo and in vitro. Three pain models in mice were used to assess the effect of EABR on nociceptive threshold. In vitro study was conducted to clarify the modulation of the extract on the tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) sodium currents in rat's dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons using whole-cell patch clamp technique. The results showed that EABR (5-20 mg/kg, i.g.) could produce dose-dependent analgesic effect on hot-plate tests as well as writhing response induced by acetic acid. In addition, administration of 2.5-10 mg/kg EABR (i.g.) caused significant decrease in pain responses in the first and second phases of formalin test without altering the PGE₂ production in the hind paw of the mice. Moreover, EABR (10 µg/ml -1 mg/ml) could suppress TTX-S voltage-gated sodium currents in a dose-dependent way, indicating the underlying electrophysiological mechanism of the analgesic effect of the folk plant medicine. Collectively, our results indicated that EABR has analgesic property in three pain models and useful influence on TTX-S sodium currents in DRG neurons, suggesting that the interference with pain messages caused by the modulation of EABR on TTX-S sodium currents in DRG neurones may explain some of its analgesic effect.
Highlights
The medical use of Aconitum spans many centuries
In this study three experimental models of pain were used to assess the analgesic property of extract of Aconiti Brachypodi Radix (EABR), in such a way that central, peripheral and inflammatory mediated effects were investigated
Our results showed that EABR had analgesic property in chemical and thermal nociceptive tests in mice, demonstrating that the extract possessed both central and peripheral antinociceptive effect
Summary
The medical use of Aconitum spans many centuries. For example, aconite tuber, the roots of aconite, is traditionally used in China and other countries to therapeutically increase peripheral temperature, relieve rheumatic pain, treat neurological disorders, and improve cardiovascular function (Sato et al, 1979; Hikino et al, 1980). The genus Aconitum consist of more than 200 species in China, the toxicities, effectiveness, and phytochemistry are diversified by their phylogeny (Xiao et al, 2006). Among these species Aconiti Brachypodi Radix (雪上一枝蒿 xuě shàng yī zhī hāo; the dried roots of Aconitum brachypodum Diels, Family Ranunculaceae) is well known for its anti-rheumatic and analgesic properties. It is mainly distributed in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China.
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