title: Antinociceptive and antipyretic effects of a derivatized tetrapeptide from lactoferrin in rats.
abstract: PEP1261, a tetrapeptide derivative used in this study, corresponds to residues 39-42 of human lactoferrin. The parent protein lactoferrin is known to exhibit antinociceptive activity and it regulates many aspects of inflammation. This study is aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive and antipyretic activities of PEP1261 in rats. PEP1261 exhibits a significant dose dependent antinociceptive activity with optimal effect at 40 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) (i.p.) in both tail-flick model and acetic acid induced writhing in rats. PEP1261 at the doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg b.w. (i.p.) is also observed to exhibit notable antipyretic effect in lipopolysaccharide-induced pyrexia in rats. In conclusion, the results suggest that PEP1261 possesses antinociceptive and antipyretic activities better than the control peptide KRDS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Madras Veterinary College, Vepery, Chennai 600007, India.
authors.forename: K V S
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Narayana Raju
authors.forename: Dilly
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ashok Kumar
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arutselvan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thejomoorthy
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Puvanakrishnan
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007249:Inflammation / Q000517:prevention & control; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000737:chemistry*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D009842:Oligopeptides; D007781:Lactoferrin