The anti-inflammatory alkaloid aloperine in Chinese herbal medicine is potentially useful for management of pain and itch

摘要

In this issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Pain, Yang and co-workers report interesting effects of aloperine on acute and inflammatory pain behaviour in mice [1]. Aloperine is an alkaloid isolated from the plant Sophora alopecuroides L that, as indicated by preclinical evidence, possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties [2]. In the Yang and co-workers' study, aloperine's analgesic efficacies were determined by performing behavioural tests of acute and inflammatory pain, and the authors documented that aloperine can suppress pain-like behaviours in several inflammatory pain models in mice [1].