Antinociceptive Effects of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Juice and Seed Extracts on Acute Corneal Pain in Mice

Zahra Malek, Shirin Mansoori Dara, Mahsa Hadipour Jahromy

Department of Pharmacology, Medical Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Medical Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/wjns.2014.42012                

Abstract

In the present study, the antinociceptive effects of acute (2, 4 and 6 ml/kg) and chronic (1, 2 and 3 ml/kg for 14 days)oral administration of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice and seed extract with or without morphine and naloxane were investigated on hypertonic saline-induced acute corneal pain perception in mice. The number of eye wipes with a forelimb was counted for a period of 30 seconds as the criterion for pain assessment. Acute oral administration of the extract (at 6 ml/kg dose, once) and chronic oral administration (at 2 and 3 ml/kg for 14 days each) significantly decreased the number of eye wipes after subcutaneous injection of morphine (2 mg/kg, sc), naloxone (2 mg/kg, sc) and normal saline (2 mg/kg, sc) compared with control (p < 0.05). The morphine-induced antinociception was significantly improved by both acute and chronic oral administrations of pomegranate extract (p < 0.05). Naloxone (2 mg/kg, sc) did not reverse the antinociceptive effects of acute (at 6 ml/kg dose, once, oral) and chronic (at 2 and 3 ml/kg for 14 days each) treatments. These findings demonstrate that acute high-dose and long-term lower-dose of pomegranate juice and seed extract can decrease acute corneal pain and improve morphine-induced antinociception in mice.

Keywords

Punica granatum, Morphine, Naloxone, Acute Corneal Pain, Mice

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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