EVALUATION OF ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE ACTIVITY OF Acacia sinuata USING VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL MODELS

Pain is the most troublesome event encountered in many diseases and states of injury. Conventional analgesics are useful but have serious draw-backs in terms of their side effects and toxicities hence the search of herbal remedies capable of counteracting pain is going on simultaneously. Traditionally Acacia sinuata is reported to possess analgesic activity but literature survey shows that this activity has not been yet evaluated. Hence Acacia sinuata was chosen for evaluation of its possible analgesic effect. Ethanolic extract of Acacia sinuata pods (ASE) was administered orally in rats and mice at the dose of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. The tail flick test, hot plate test and acetic acid induced writhing test were used for evaluation of anti-nociceptive activity of ASE using Diclofenac sodium (25 mg/kg) as reference drug. ASE significantly increased the latency for tail flick, jumping time from hot plate and reduced number of writhes induced by acetic acid suggesting good anti-nociceptive activity. Results of the study confirmed the ethno medical use of Acacia sinuata in painful conditions. ASE acts probably by inhibiting the release, synthesis and / production of inflammatory mediators like polypeptides, kinins, prostaglandins etc. Further research in this direction would clarify its exact mechanism of action justifying its use as an effective analgesic agent.