Effect of Morinda citrifolia L. (noni) in analgesic models

摘要

Introduction: Morinda citrifolia L. (noni) has aroused great interest and expectations in the Cuban population due to attributed medicinal properties. Several research works have suggested the analgesic effect of several parts of the plant. Objectives: to evaluate the effect of Noni juice in different analgesic models. Methods: there were used 450, 900, and 1 800 mg/kg doses of the juice, based on the dry content weight. They were administered intraperitonealy to adult male mice OF1 in the peritoneal irritation model induced by acetic acid at 0.6 % concentration, and the number of contorsions or stretchings was quantified. Additionally, the hot plate and the tail immersed in hot water models were applied. Results: the noni juice was effective in reducing the number of contortions induced by the acetic acid in a dose-dependent manner. Just the highest dose of the juice increased significantly the time of reaction in the hot plate and in the tail immersion test. Conclusions: these results suggest that the analgesic effect of Noni juice is basically peripheral.