Antinociceptive effects of hydroalcoholic extract from Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Acai) in a rodent model of acute and neuropathic pain

Background: Plants rich in flavonoids, such as acai (Euterpe oleraceae Mart.), can induce antinociception in experimental animals. Here, we tested an extract obtained from the stones of acai fruits (acai stone extract, ASE), a native plant from the Amazon region of Brazil, in models of acute/inflammatory and chronic pain. Methods: Antinociceptive effects of ASE were evaluated in the hot plate, formalin, acetic acid writhing, carrageenan, and neuropathic pain models, as well as in thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia models induced by spinal nerve ligation. Antinociceptive activities were modulated by the administration of cholinergic, adrenergic, opioid, and L-arginine-NO antagonists. Results: Oral administration of ASE (30, 100, or 300 mg.kg(-1)) dose-dependently reduced nociceptive responses to acute/inflammatory pain in mice, including thermal hyperalgesia, acetic acid-induced writhing, and carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia. Moreover, ASE reduced the neurogenic and inflammatory phases after intraplantar injection of formalin in mice. The antinociceptive effect of ASE (100 mg.kg(-1)) in a hot plate protocol, was inhibited by pre-treatment with naloxone (1 mg.kg(-1)), atropine (2 mg.kg(-1)), yohimbine (5 mg.kg(-1)), or L-NAME (30 mg.kg(-1)). Furthermore, ASE prevented chronic pain in a rat spinal nerve ligation model, including thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. Conclusion: ASE showed significant antinociceptive effect via a multifactorial mechanism of action, indicating that the extract may be useful in the development of new analgesic drugs.