Evaluation of the analgesic effect of alkaloid extract of Peganum harmala L.: Possible mechanisms involved

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 115; no. 3; pp. 449 - 454
• Main Authors: Farouk, Loubna, Laroubi, Amine, Aboufatima, Rachida, Benharref, Ahmed, Chait, Abderrahman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 12-02-2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alkaloids - administration & dosage; Alkaloids - isolation & purification; Alkaloids - pharmacology; Analgesics - administration & dosage; Analgesics - isolation & purification; Analgesics - pharmacology; Animals; Antinociceptive activity; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; General pharmacology; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Injections, Intraventricular; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine, Traditional; Mice; Morocco; Morphine - pharmacology; Opioid system; Pain - drug therapy; Pain Measurement; Peganum - chemistry; Peganum harmala; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Rats; Rats and mice; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Opioid - metabolism; Seeds; Zygophyllaceae; Morocco; Antinociceptive activity; Opioid system; Peganum harmala; Rats and mice; Evaluation; Weed; Rat; Pharmacognosy; Rodentia; Opiates; Extract; Medicinal plant; Vertebrata; Alkaloid; Mammalia; Analgesic; Mouse; Zygophyllaceae; Dicotyledones; Animal; Angiospermae; Plant origin; Spermatophyta; Mechanism of action
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2007.10.014

The seeds of
Peganum harmala L. (
Pgh) (Zygophyllaceae) have been used in Moroccan traditional medicine for treatment of a various diseases and to relieve dolorous process. The major objective of this paper was to investigate the mechanism of the analgesia induced by alkaloid extract of
Peganum harmala. In the present work, the antinociceptive action was assayed in several experimental models in mice: writhing, formalin, and hot plate tests. The alkaloid extract (12.5 and 25
mg/kg) and in a dose-dependent manner significantly reduced the nociception by acetic acid intraperitoneal injection (
p
<
0.001). In the formalin test, the extract also significantly reduced the painful stimulus in both phases of the test (
p
<
0.001). Treatment with the extract when given by (i.p. or i.c.v.) or with morphine (10
mg/kg, i.p.) produced a significant increase of the reaction time in hot plate test. These result showed that the alkaloid extract of
Pgh contains active analgesic principles acting both centrally and peripherally. Furthermore, this antinociceptive effect has been avoided by naloxone at a dose of 1
mg/kg in the first phase of formalin and hot plate tests indicating that this extract act partly through an opioid-mediated mechanism. In conclusion, the alkaloid extract of
Peganum harmala seems to have both central and peripheral antinociceptive activities which may be mediated by opioid receptors.