Comparative Analgesic Activity of Achnil in the Rat Formalin Test

Abstract

Background: NSAIDs are the mainstays for the management of a myriad of painful conditions. Diclofenac has been reported to be efficacious in several conditions. Aceclofenac is a relatively new congener of diclofenac and is reported to have better tolerability. Lornoxicam is another NSAID demonstrated to have good analgesic efficacy. Very few reports are available which have compared the efficacy of different analgesic formulations. This study aimed at evaluating the comparative analgesic potential of parenteral formulations, Voveran, Achnil and Flexilor, reported to contain diclofenac, aceclofenac and lornoxicam respectively.
Procedures: The rat formalin test was utilised to compare the formulations. Composite pain score and no. of licks were evaluated at 15 mins, 6 hr and 12 hr post-dosing.
Findings: Evaluation of these formulations in the rat formalin test at different time-points revealed that achnil was superior to voveran in demonstrating analgesic activity. Observations made for the Achnil treated group revelaed that Achnil was able to reduce the no. of paw licks and composite pain score at all the time points studied. This effect was not only superior to control animals but also than that of the Voveran or Flexilor treated animals. The effects of Voveran and Flexilor reduced to about 52% and 35% repsectively at 6 hrs and results recorded at 12 hrs showed that the effect of Voveran and Flexilor were not significantly different from control.
Conclusions: Duration of action for Achnil injection is better and is more suited for management of conditions involving longer pain durations as compared to Voveran or Flexilor.