title: Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) elicits antinociceptive properties and potentiates morphine-induced analgesia in the rat radiant heat tail-flick test.
abstract: Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a well-known spice plant, has been used traditionally in the treatment of a wide variety of ailments. It has been shown that ginger is a calcium channel blocker; however, its influence on morphine analgesic effects has not been elucidated. We examined the effect of ginger root extract on nociceptive threshold and morphine-induced analgesia in male Wistar rats. To determine the effect of ginger on morphine analgesia, ginger extract (200, 400, and 600 mg/kg i.p.) was injected before a subeffective dose of morphine (2.5 mg/kg i.p.). The radiant heat tail-flick test was used to assess the nociceptive threshold before and at different times after drug administration. Our results showed that ginger extract elicited a significant antinociceptive effect. In addition, in groups that received both morphine and ginger, the observed analgesia was higher than that in groups treated with either morphine or ginger extract alone. Thus, the data indicate that ginger extract has a beneficial influence on morphine analgesia and can be an efficacious adjunct for pain management.
authors.affiliation: Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khoramabad, Iran. semahani@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sepahvand
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esmaeili-Mahani
authors.forename: Ardeshir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arzi
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rasoulian
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abbasnejad
mesh_terms: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D020939:Zingiber officinale / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009021:Morphine Dependence / Q000517:prevention & control; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D027343:Rhizome / Q000737:chemistry*; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D010936:Plant Extracts; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; C493922:Trpv1 protein, rat; D009020:Morphine