Evaluation of central and peripheral analgesic activity of Cetrizine in mice

Ishteyaque  Ahmad; Amritanshu  Shekhar; Shantanu  Vats; Gandham  Ravi; Shilpi  Mishra

doi:10.51168/sjhrafrica.v6i3.1644

Authors

Ishteyaque Ahmad Professor, Department of Pharmacology, NSMCH, Bihta, Bihar, India
Amritanshu Shekhar Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, NSMCH, Bihta, Bihar, India
Shantanu Vats Senior Resident, Department of General Medicine, NSMCH, Bihta, Bihar, India
Gandham Ravi Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, NSMCH, Bihta, Bihar, India
Shilpi Mishra Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, NSMCH, Bihta, Bihar, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51168/sjhrafrica.v6i3.1644

Keywords:

Analgesic activity, amitriptyline, cetirizine, diclofenac, tail flick test, tail clip test, writhing test

Abstract

Background: Pain management is challenging due to the subjective nature of pain and the limitations of existing analgesics. Histamine and serotonin pathways play a role in pain modulation, suggesting potential analgesic effects of cetirizine and amitriptyline. While amitriptyline has shown some efficacy, cetirizine’s role in pain relief remains unclear. This study evaluates their analgesic potential individually and with diclofenac in mice.

Methods: Albino Swiss mice (n=24) were divided into four groups to evaluate the analgesic effects of amitriptyline and cetirizine, compared to diclofenac. Pain response was assessed using the tail flick (thermal), tail clip (physical), and writhing (chemical) tests at multiple time points. Drugs were administered orally, and percentage inhibition of writhing was calculated.

Results: Amitriptyline exhibited the highest analgesic effect in the tail flick test (13.50±0.342 sec at 90 min), followed by diclofenac (11.00±0.365 sec) and cetirizine (8.00±0.365 sec). In the tail clip test, diclofenac and amitriptyline showed peak response times of 12.66±0.323 sec and 12.16±0.342 sec, respectively. Cetirizine was less effective in both tests. In the writhing test, diclofenac had the highest inhibition (65.85%), followed by cetirizine (41.46%), while amitriptyline showed the least effect (19.50%). These findings confirm significant analgesic properties of all tested drugs, with varying efficacy.

Conclusion: Amitriptyline showed the most prolonged analgesic effect in thermal and mechanical pain models, while diclofenac was most effective in visceral pain inhibition. Cetirizine demonstrated moderate analgesic activity.

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