title: Does exogenous melatonin influence the free radicals metabolism and pain sensation in rat?
abstract: Melatonin has been shown to play a role in antioxidative defence. We therefore studied its effect on oxidative damage to the rat cerebral cortex evoked by painful stimulation and immobilization-induced stress. Moreover, the effect of melatonin on chronic pain perception was examined. Rats were injected with either a high dose of melatonin (100 mg/kg i.p.) or a vehicle for five days and were subjected to painful stimulation or immobilization stress 30 min after the treatment. To determine the degree of oxidative stress, the levels of free radicals, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as indicators of lipid peroxidation and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) were estimated in somatosensory cortex. Pain perception was measured by the tail-flick and plantar test. Melatonin reduced the level of TBARS previously increased by painful stimulation. Melatonin also exhibited a slight analgesic effect in those animals exposed to painful stimulation but its role in free radical scavenging did not contribute to this effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal, Pathological and Clinical Physiology, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. ivanapekarkova@seznam.cz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pekárková
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parara
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Holecek
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stopka
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trefil
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Racek
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rokyta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D005609:Free Radicals; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D008550:Melatonin