Abstract
Saussurea lappa Clarke (Compositae) is well known as a medicinal plant. Its roots are traditionally used in alleviating pain and swelling. In the current research, we have evaluated the antinociceptive activity of essential oil obtained from the roots of S. lappa. In addition, the development and evaluation of a pharmaceutical-grade cream was also conducted in this study. Extraction of essential oil from the roots of the plant was performed by a steam distillation method using the Clevenger apparatus. The antinociceptive activity was assessed in Sprague Dawley rats using tail flick, hot plate, and analgesic-meter, where diclofenac was used as a standard reference analgesic agent. S. lappa showed analgesic activity in all test systems in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the formulated cream obtained from the essential oil showed very promising pharmaceutical and pharmacological properties. The analgesic activity of S. lappa may be due to its interaction with opioid receptors and involvement of peripheral analgesia. The ability of S. lappa to show both slow- and fast-onset analgesic effects suggests it could be used as a drug candidate for pain management. The current findings thus warrant further research in the development of this novel analgesic agent.