Antinociceptive effects of methyl jasmonate in experimental animals

Abstract

Methyl jasmonate (MJ) is a chemical compound that has been postulated to play a role in plant wound and pathogen responses. While the anti-inflammatory property of MJ has been reported in literature, no studies have been carried out to describe its role in the modulation of pain. Thus, this present investigation sought to evaluate the antinociceptive activity of MJ in animal models of pain. The antinociceptive activity of MJ (10-50 mg/kg) administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) was screened using the acetic acid-induced writhing, tail immersion, formalin-induced paw licking and Randall-Selitto paw pressure tests in rodents. MJ demonstrated inhibitory activity against acetic acid-induced abdominal constrictions in mice. It further produced a significant suppression of the inflammatory pain associated with the second phase of the formalin test in mice. However, MJ did not inhibit the neurogenic pain associated with the first phase of the formalin test and also failed to alter the reaction time of mice to noxious heat in the tail immersion test. In the Randall-Selitto paw pressure test, MJ significantly prolonged the paw withdrawal latency in the inflamed hind paw but did not alter the pain response in the non-inflamed hind paw of rats. The acute toxicity test showed that MJ given i.p. was well tolerated by the animals, as no toxic symptoms or death were observed at a dose range of 100-300 mg/kg in mice. Behavioural changes (ataxia, sedation and hyperventilation) were only observed at higher doses of MJ (400 and 500 mg/kg). Taken together, these findings suggest that methyl jasmonate has antinociceptive activity and may serve as a therapeutic in the treatment of inflammatory pain.

A Review (Research and Patents) on Jasmonic Acid and Its Derivatives

“…Various studies have shown that JA and MJ do not cause significant toxicity . Umukoro and Abimola reported that, when MJ was administered intraperitoneally in doses ranging from 100 to 500 mg/kg, it was well tolerated by mice and did not produce acute toxic symptoms or death in the animals. Results of several studies on acute toxicity, skin irritation, mucous membrane (eye) irritation, skin sensitization, phototoxicity, and photoallergy of methyl dihydrojasmonate indicated that the LD 50 for oral administration was >5 g/kg, and for skin use, the LD 50 was >2 g/kg.…”

“…The first report on jasmonate‐induced anticancer activities exhibited their capacity to cause both cell death and suppression of cell proliferation . Jasmonates are small hydrophobic compounds that act as plant stress hormones and can increase the survival of lymphoma‐bearing animals and humans, and induce death in human leukemia, lung, colon, prostate, neuroblastoma, breast, and melanoma cell lines, as well as in leukemic cells from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients .…”

Methyl Jasmonate Ameliorates Testosterone Propionate-induced Prostatic Hyperplasia in Castrated Wistar Rats

“…), and MeJA (50 mg/kg i.p.) were given daily to the animals for 4 consecutive weeks (Umukoro and Olugbemide, 2011;Lee et al, 2012).…”

“…MeJA, been an ubiquitous and naturally occurring plant hormone, is considered to be safe and can be a constituent of human diet via commonly consumed fruits (Cesari et al, 2014). MeJA is known to elicit some pharmacological activities such as antiinflammatory, anti-convulsant, antioxidant, and anti-nociceptive (Umukoro and Olugbemide, 2011;Annafi et al, 2014;Cesari et al, 2014). The in vitro anticancer property of MeJA has been linked to the arrest of cell cycle in human acute lymphoblastic leukemia Molt-4, breast MCF-7 and melanocytic MDA-MB-435, neuroblastoma BE(2)-C, cervical carcinoma, and HeLa cells (Jiang et al, 2008;Yeruva et al, 2008;Zhang and Xing, 2008;Zhao et al, 2010).…”

Hyperalgesia and increased sevoflurane minimum alveolar concentration induced by opioids in the rat

“…The stimulus was applied to the plantar surface of the left hind paw by increasing the pressure until the rat withdrew its limb, which was considered the threshold. 27 The threshold value at each time point was considered the mechanical nociceptive threshold. A minimum of 5 min was allowed between consecutive measures.…”