Potential Activity of Medicinal Plants as Pain Modulators: A Review

Abstract

This review aims to demonstrate the relevance that medicinal plants and their promising results have in prevention and treatment of pain. The neurophysiological bases of pain have been analyzed and the potential mechanisms of action have been proposed, it has also been determined that the main experimental models used for the evaluation of the analgesic potential are: acetic acid-induced writhing test, formalin test, hot-plate test, capsaicin-induced nociception, cinnamaldehyde-induced nociception, glutamate-induced nociception, tail-flick test and tail immersion test. There are countless medicinal plants with potential analgesic activity, in some of them main responsible compounds for the activity are flavonoids (vitexin, quercetin, naringenin, astragalin, eupatilin), alkaloids (scotanamine B, bullatine A, S-(+)dicentrine, stephalagine, lappaconitine), terpenoids (p-cymene, thymol, menthol, citronellol, myrcene, carvacrol, linalool) and saponins (siolmatroside I, cayaponoside D, cayaponoside B4, cayaponoside A1); however, all studies have only been carried out up to pre-clinical stages. Therefore, it is recommended to carry out kinetic studies of the most remarkable natural compounds, evaluate mixtures of active compounds for diminishing doses to avoide possible side effects, and continue with clinical studies of medicinal plants whose safety has already been reported.

Gastroprophylactic Effects of p-Cymene in Ethanol-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats

“…Preceding supplementation and treatment, overnight fasting was applied to all animal groups (food but not water). Food was removed for about 3-4 h after Furthermore, p-Cymene is also an active molecule remote from numerous therapeutic plants conventionally used for the treatment of an extensive variety of chronic and/or communicable illnesses connected to pain, inflammation, and oxidative pressure, and can scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) avoiding oxidation of biomolecules and inducing pain and inflammation [26]. Free radicals and oxidative stress have been correlated with numerous human health issues.…”

“…The compound p-Cymene [1-methylethyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-benzen] has been known as a natural compound and a monoterpene that has toluene substituted by an isopropyl repositioning at the fourth sub-group (Figure 1). p-Cymene is an important monoterpene compound present in essential volatile oils of various aromatic medicinal plants and occurs naturally in innumerable foods [25]; moreover, it shows a wide spectrum of biological activities and is used in traditional medicines to convey analgesic [26], antioxidant [27], anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, anxiolytic, anticancer, antimicrobial [28], and anti-tumor [29] actions, in addition to influencing the cardiovascular scheme [30] and central nervous scheme [31].…”

“…p-Cymene is an important monoterpene compound present in essential volatile oils of various aromatic medicinal plants and occurs naturally in innumerable foods [25]; moreover, it shows a wide spectrum of biological activities and is used in traditional medicines to convey analgesic [26], antioxidant [27], anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, anxiolytic, anticancer, antimicrobial [28], and anti-tumor [29] actions, in addition to influencing the cardiovascular scheme [30] and central nervous scheme [31]. Furthermore, p-Cymene is also an active molecule remote from numerous therapeutic plants conventionally used for the treatment of an extensive variety of chronic and/or communicable illnesses connected to pain, inflammation, and oxidative pressure, and can scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) avoiding oxidation of biomolecules and inducing pain and inflammation [26]. Free radicals and oxidative stress have been correlated with numerous human health issues.…”

Survey Etnobotani Tumbuhan Obat pada Masyarakat Dayak Salako di Sekitar Cagar Alam Raya Pasi Provinsi Kalimantan Barat

“…Penggunaan tumbuhan dalam pengobatan ini terdokumentasi dalam bentuk tulisan, monumen, dan obatobatan yang bersumber dari tumbuhan (Petrovska, 2012). Penelitian terdahulu juga menunjukkan bahwa, tumbuhan dimanfaatkan dalam berbagai pengobatan, seperti: kanker (Jain et al, 2016), diabetes (Balogun et al, 2016), malaria (Alebie et al, 2017), penanganan nyeri (Silva-Correa et al, 2021), dan tuberculosis (Obakiro et al, 2020).…”

Differential Antinociceptive Efficacy of Peel Extracts and Lyophilized Juices of Three Varieties of Mexican Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) in the Formalin Test

“…Therefore, in recent years there has been a growing interest in replacing or reducing the undesirable effects of drugs with natural compounds, such as herbal extracts, dietary supplements, or isolated phytochemicals. These are considered safe, effective, and with or without minor side effects [ 11 ]. Many of these natural sources have been used since ancient times in traditional medicine to reduce pain and inflammation [ 12 ].…”