Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Antinociceptive Properties and Acute Toxicity of Ethanol Extract of Bromelia laciniosa Mart. ex Schult. f. (Bromeliaceae)

Sarah RG de Lima-Saraiva¹, Henrique CC Saraiva², Juliane C Silva², Leonardo F Neves², Patrícia KF Damasceno³, Carla RC Branco³, Alexsandro Branco³, Elba LC Amorim¹, Jackson RGS Almeida²

¹Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50.740-521, Recife, Pernambuco; ²Universidade Federal do Vale do SÃ£o Francisco, 56.304-205, Petrolina, Pernambuco; ³Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, 44.036-900, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil.

For correspondence:- Jackson Almeida Email: jackson.guedes@univasf.edu.br Tel:+ 558721016862

Received: 9 September 2013 Accepted: 24 August 2014 Published: 19 October 2014

Citation: Lima-Saraiva SR, Saraiva HC, Silva JC, Neves LF, Damasceno PK, Branco CR, et al. Antinociceptive Properties and Acute Toxicity of Ethanol Extract of Bromelia laciniosa Mart. ex Schult. f. (Bromeliaceae). Trop J Pharm Res 2014; 13(10):1659-1666 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v13i10.13

© 2014 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the antinociceptive activity and acute toxicity of the ethanol extract of Bromelia laciniosa leaf.

Methods: A high performance liquid chromatography HPLC fingerprint of phenolic compounds was developed. The antinociceptive effect of ethanol extract (Bl-EtOH) in mice was carried out using chemical (writhing and formalin) and thermal (hot plate) models of nociception. The acute toxicity of the extract was performed in mice using doses of 2.0 g/kg intraperitoneally and 5.0 g/kg orally. Blood was removed for laboratory analysis of hematological and biochemical parameters.

Results: Bl-EtOH (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced the number of writhing (91.80, 93.44 and 78.68 %, respectively) and the number of paw licks during the first (60.86, 62.84 and 66.79 %) and second phase (91.93, 82.18 and 88.73 %) of the formalin test. Naloxone (1.5 mg/kg, i.p.) antagonized the antinociceptive action of Bl-EtOH (100 mg/kg), and this finding suggests involvement of opioid mechanism. The effect of Bl-EtOH on hot plate response provides a confirmation of its central effect.

Conclusion: B. laciniosa leaf extract has antinociceptive properties. Peripheral, and at least in part, central mechanisms, may be involved in this antinociceptive effect. The ethanol leaf extract apparently presents no significant toxicity.

Keywords: Bromelia laciniosa, Nociception, Pain, Writhing, Acute toxicity