Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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ANTINOCICEPTIVE PROPERTIES OF DIETHYLAMINE IN RODENTS: ROLE OF THE CANNABINOID AND OPIOID RECEPTORS

ANA SEGĂRCEANU*, ISABEL GHIȚĂ, AIDA CRISTINA SOVA, MIRCEA CRISTIAN RADU, ION FULGA

1.Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy – Faculty of Medicine – University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” Bucharest – 8, Eroilor Sanitari Street, 050474, Bucharest, Romania

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Diethylamine is a simple substance for which analgesic properties were proven but the underlying mechanism of action is unknown. The working hypothesis of this research was that the diethylamine could produce analgesia by interacting with the endocannabinoid system. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction of diethylamine with cannabinoid or opioid receptors on chemical and thermal pain models in mice or rats. Mice or rats were intraperitoneally injected with diethylamine (30-120 mg kg-1 bw), naloxone (10-30 mg kg-1 bw), AM281 (3 mg kg-1 bw), rimonabant (5 mg kg-1 bw) or saline solution as control. Analgesic effects were measured using writhing or tail-flick tests. Spontaneous locomotor activity, rectal temperature, cataleptic effects and antiinflammatory properties after diethylamine administration were also evaluated. Diethylamine presented analgesic properties in all used pain models. Cannabinoid receptors antagonists failed to reverse these anti-nociceptive effects. The opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone completely prevented diethylamine-induced analgesia in the tail-flick test and only partially in the writhing test. Diethylamine determined also sedation, hypothermia but no catalepsy and presented anti-inflammatory properties. Diethylamine-induced analgesia may be related to opioid receptors stimulation but also to the anti-inflammatory properties of this simple compound which is already used as an excipient in some analgesic topical pharmaceutical products. Furthermore, the antinociceptive properties of diethylamine should be considered when synthesizing new analgesic molecules.