The in vivo evaluation of antinociceptive and antipyretic activities of Marrubium deserti De Noé infusion extract

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the <em>in vivo </em>antinociceptive and antipyretic activities of <em>Marrubium deserti</em> De Noé infusion extract<em>. </em>Antinociceptive effect was evaluated by acetic acid induced writhing response, formalin-induced paw licking and the hot plat method in mice, while antipyretic activity was tested by brewer’s yeast induced pyrexia in rats. In each test, we examined the doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight (bw) of the extract. The infusion extract produced dose-dependent antinociceptive effect against chemically and thermally induced nociceptive pain stimuli in mice. In acetic acid induced writhing test, the inhibition percentage of writhing response was 49.12% at 1000 mg/kg bw (<em>p<0.001</em>). This extract also significantly (<em>p<0.001</em>) inhibited the licking response of the formalin test at 1000 mg/kg bw in both the early phase (64.39%) and the late phase (70.75%). In the hot plate method, the infusion extract significantly (<em>p<0.001</em>) increased the reaction time to heat sensation to 58.21% at 1000 mg/kg bw Moreover, the extract possessed an excellent (<em>p<0.001</em>) antipyretic effect and even better than the reference drug. These findings indicate that <em>M. deserti </em>De Noé infusion extract possesses antinociceptive and antipyretic activities which could be due to the presence of bioactive compounds in this plant.