eCAM Advance Access published online on October 8, 2009
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nep144
Antinociceptive Activity of Trichilia catigua Hydroalcoholic Extract: New Evidence on its Dopaminergic Effects
1Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário, Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, 2Faculty of Pharmacy, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, 3Department of Chemistry, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário, Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, 4Pianowski and Pianowski Consulting and 5Faculty of Dentistry, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Trichilia catigua is a native plant of Brazil; its barks are used by some local pharmaceutical companies to prepare tonic drinks, such as Catuama®. The present study was addressed to evaluate the effects of T. catigua hydroalcoholic extract in mouse nociception behavioral models, and to evaluate the possible mechanisms involved in its actions. Male Swiss mice were submitted to hot-plate, writhing and von Frey tests, after oral treatment with T. catigua extract (200 mg kg–1, p.o.). The extract displayed antinociceptive effect in all three models. For characterization of the mechanisms involved in the antinociceptive action of the extract, the following pharmacological treatments were done: naloxone (2.5 mg kg–1, s.c.), SR141716A (10 mg kg–1, i.p.), SCH23390 (15 µg kg–1, i.p.), sulpiride (50 mg kg–1, i.p.), prazosin (1 mg kg–1, i.p.), bicuculline (1 mg kg–1, i.p.) or DL-p-chlorophenylalanine methyl ester (PCPA, 100 mg kg–1, i.p.). In these experiments, the action of T. catigua extract was evaluated in the hot-plate test. The treatment with SCH23390 completely prevented the antinociceptive effect, while naloxone partially prevented it. The possible involvement of the dopaminergic system in the actions of T. catigua extract was substantiated by data showing the potentiation of apomorphine-induced hypothermia and by the prevention of haloperidol-induced catalepsy. In conclusion, the antinociceptive effects of T. catigua extract seem to be mainly associated with the activation of dopaminergic system and, to a lesser extent, through interaction with opioid pathway.
Keywords: antinociception – catuaba – dopaminergic system – opioid receptors – Trichilia catigua
For reprints and all correspondence: Dr João B. Calixto, Department of Pharmacology, Center of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Campus Universitário, Trindade, 88049-900, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. Tel: +55-48-3721-9491; Fax: +55-48-3232-9139; E-mail: calixto{at}farmaco.ufsc.br, calixto3{at}terra.com.br
Received February 7, 2009; accepted August 29, 2009