Ferulic Acid: Cannabinoidergic System is Partially Involved in Analgesic Effect in Inflammatory Pain

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Bektaş Türkmen N., Helvacı G., Eken H., Okçay Y., Arslan R.

14th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical Sciences (ISOPS), Ankara, Türkiye, 25 - 28 Haziran 2024, ss.361

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Ankara
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.361
  • Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Introduction: Pain is a psychological, physical or emotional sensation that may be associated with tissue damage and inflammation (1). The most commonly used drugs for pain are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (2). It is observed that frequent use of analgesics leads to various side effects in individuals. These difficulties have led scientific researchers all over the world to search for alternative treatment. Herbal origin medicines are considered as an alternative treatment and used in a wide range of diseases such as pain and inflammation with little or no side effects (3). The goal of this study is to investigate the analgesic effect of ferulic acid, a natural antioxidant phenolic, and the role of cannabinoidergic system in its effect in capsaicin-induced inflammatory pain.

Materials and Methods: To induce inflammatory pain, 20 µg capsaicin was administered in a volume of 20 µL by i.pl. route. To test the effect of ferulic acid; 150, 300 and 600 µg doses of ferulic acid were administered, i.pl. (in a volume of 30 µL) 15 min before the capsaicin injection. For mechanism of action studies; CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 was administered i.p. at the dose of 10 mg/kg and CB2 inverse agonist AM630 was administered i.p. at the dose of 10 mg/kg. All pain thresholds were measured at 0-180 min time interval with an electronic von Frey device.

Results: As a result of the study, a decrease was observed in the pain thresholds of animals given capsaicin. In animals injected with ferulic acid, a significant increase in pain thresholds was observed at all doses and time points tested. Pretreatment with AM251 relatively reduced the increased pain threshold, however injection of AM630 failed to antagonize the effect.

Conclusions: This study showed that ferulic acid has a potential in inflammatory pain relief. Cannabinoidegic system is partially involved in ferulic acid induced analgesia by stimulation of CB1 receptors. Because of partial involvement another detailed mechanistic studies should be performed to investigate the acting profile of ferulic acid.