Study of circadian variation in the efficacy of aspirin as an analgesic agent in experimental animals

摘要

Circadian rhythmicity is present in almost every aspect of the living world and effects of drugs on various life forms are no exception. This study was undertaken to find out the circadian variation in the analgesic activity of aspirin and to correlate the variations with the blood levels of salicylate at that time. The model used was the application of radiant heat to the tail of rats for analgesic activity. Aspirin exhibited maximum activity when administered at 12:00h, although this difference was not statistically significant. Also, there was no correlation between the levels of salicylate in the blood and the activity of aspirin. Due to the presence of this trend towards increased activity at 12:00h, it may thus be worthwhile to conduct similar studies, in patients of chronic arthritis, in order to find out the time(s) at which, aspirin if administered will be most useful. [References: 16]