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Acute and neuropathic orofacial antinociceptive effect of eucalyptol

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Abstract

Terpenes have a wide range of pharmacological properties, including antinociceptive action. The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of eucalyptol are well established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antinociceptive effect of eucalyptol on acute and neuropathic orofacial pain in rodent models. Acute orofacial and corneal nociception was induced with formalin, capsaicin, glutamate and hypertonic saline in mice. In another series, animals were pretreated with capsazepine or ruthenium red to evaluate the involvement of TRPV1 receptors in the effect of eucalyptol. In a separate experiment, perinasal tissue levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and IFN-γ were measured. Rats were pretreated with eucalyptol before induction of temporomandibular joint pain with formalin or mustard oil. In another experiment, rats were submitted to infraorbital nerve transection (IONX) to induce chronic pain, followed by induction of mechanical hypersensitivity using Von Frey hairs. Locomotor performance was evaluated with the open-field test, and molecular docking was conducted on the TRPV1 channel. Pretreatment with eucalyptol significantly reduced formalin-induced nociceptive behaviors in all mouse strains, but response was more homogenous in the Swiss strain. Eucalyptol produced antinociceptive effects in all tests. The effect was sensitive to capsazepine but not to ruthenium red. Moreover, eucalyptol significantly reduced IFN-γ levels. Matching the results of the experiment in vivo, the docking study indicated an interaction between eucalyptol and TRPV1. No locomotor activity changes were observed. Our study shows that eucalyptol may be a clinically relevant aid in the treatment of orofacial pain, possibly by acting as a TRPV1 channel antagonist.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank CNPq (310081/2011-4), Funcap (12535647-1) and Capes (053/14) for financial support, and Fundação Edson Queiroz for infrastructure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Biology Center (NUBEX), University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Av. Washington Soares 1321, Edson Queiroz, Fortaleza, Ceará, CEP 60811-905, Brazil

    José de Maria de Albuquerque de Melo Júnior, Marina de Barros Mamede Vidal Damasceno, Sacha Aubrey Alves Rodrigues Santos, Talita Matias Barbosa, João Ronielly Campêlo Araújo, Antonio Eufrásio Vieira-Neto & Adriana Rolim Campos

  2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

    Talita Matias Barbosa, Deysi Viviana Tenazoa Wong & Roberto César Pereira Lima-Júnior

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

    João Ronielly Campêlo Araújo & Antonio Eufrásio Vieira-Neto

Authors
  1. José de Maria de Albuquerque de Melo Júnior
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  2. Marina de Barros Mamede Vidal Damasceno
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  3. Sacha Aubrey Alves Rodrigues Santos
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  4. Talita Matias Barbosa
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  6. Antonio Eufrásio Vieira-Neto
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  7. Deysi Viviana Tenazoa Wong
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  8. Roberto César Pereira Lima-Júnior
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  9. Adriana Rolim Campos
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Correspondence to Adriana Rolim Campos.

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Melo Júnior, J.M.A., Damasceno, M.B.M.V., Santos, S.A.A.R. et al. Acute and neuropathic orofacial antinociceptive effect of eucalyptol. Inflammopharmacol 25, 247–254 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10787-017-0324-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10787-017-0324-5

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