title: Bak Foong Pills induce an analgesic effect by inhibiting nociception via the somatostatin pathway in mice.
abstract: Dysmenorrhoea, defined as cramping pain in the lower abdomen occurring before or during menstruation, affects, to varying degrees, up to 90% of women of child-bearing age. We investigated whether BFP (Bak Foong Pills), a traditional Chinese medicine treatment for dysmenorrhoea, possesses analgesic properties. Results showed that BFP was able to significantly reduce pain responses following subchronic treatment for 3 days, but not following acute (1 h) treatment in response to acetic acid-induced writhing in C57/B6 mice. The analgesic effect was not due to inhibition of COX (cyclo-oxygenase) activity, evidenced by the lack of inhibition of prostacyclin and PGE2 (prostaglandin E2) production. Molecular analysis revealed that BFP treatment modulated the expression of a number of genes in the spinal cord of mice subjected to acetic acid writhing. RT-PCR (reverse transcription-PCR) analysis of spinal cord samples showed that both sst4 (somatostatin receptor 4) and sst2 receptor mRNA, but not μOR (μ-opiate receptor) and NK1 (neurokinin-1) receptor mRNA, were down-regulated following BFP treatment, thus implicating somatostatin involvement in BFP-induced analgesia. Administration of c-som (cyclo-somatostatin), a somatostatin antagonist, prior to acetic acid-induced writhing inhibited the analgesic effect. Thus subchronic treatment with BFP has anti-nociceptive qualities mediated via the somatostatin pathway.
authors: Epithelial Cell Biology Research Centre, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors: Dewi Kenneth
authors: DK
authors: Rowlands
authors: Yu Gui
authors: YG
authors: Cui
authors: Siu Cheung
authors: SC
authors: So
authors: Lai Ling
authors: LL
authors: Tsang
authors: Yiu Wa
authors: YW
authors: Chung
authors: Hsiao Chang
authors: HC
authors: Chan
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011464:Epoprostenol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D059225:Nociception / Q000187:drug effects*; D010146:Pain / Q000139:chemically induced; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; C508116:Bak Foong Pills; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin; C106140:somatostatin receptor sst2A; C098681:somatostatin receptor subtype-4; D013004:Somatostatin; D011464:Epoprostenol; D015232:Dinoprostone; D019342:Acetic Acid