Antinociceptive activity of steroid alkaloids isolated from Solanum trilobatum Linn.

Abstract

Solasodine (1) was isolated for the first time from the roots of Solanum trilobatum Linn., a member of the Solanaceae, and assessed for its presumed antinociceptive activity using several experimental murine models, viz. the writhing, formalin, and hot plate tests. When used at doses of 2, 4, and 8 mg/kg, this steroidal alkaloid caused a significant and dose-dependent decrease in the nociception induced by an intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid (p < 0.001). It also led to a significant reduction of the painful sensation caused by formalin in both phases of the formalin test (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the alkaloid produced a significant increase in the reaction time in the hot plate test (p < 0.001). These results suggest that solasodine elicited antinociceptive activity through both central and peripheral mechanisms.

Keywords:

• solasodine
• analgesic activity
• formalin test
• hot plate test
• writhing test

Acknowledgements

We thank the following individuals at SAIF, CDRI Lucknow for providing the analytical data of the compounds reported in this paper: Prof. Raja Roy, Mr Harsh Mohan Gauniyal for the NMR experimental work, and Mr Sunil Arnold Singh for the mass spectral data.