Abstract
Background: Brassica campestris plant, a prominent member of Brassicaceae family, has documented therapeutic potential in the common cold, as an antibacterial, antiprotozoal, and to some extent an analgesic in folk medicine. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the antinociceptive activity and analgesic potential of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of the Brassica campestris plant in rats. Materials and Methods: The antinociceptive potential and analgesic effects of the Brassica campestris leaves extract were evaluated by using the hot plate test and formalin analgesia method. The data were presented as mean +/- standard error of the mean (M +/- SEM). One-way analysis of variance [ANOVA] followed by Tukey's multiple comparison tests were performed for statistical analysis. P-value was considered significant at < 0.05. Results: The withdrawal latency period was noticed to be gradually and significantly prolonged after 400mg/kg oral administration of Brassica campestris leaves extract reaching a maximum of 12.73 +/- 0.61 sec (p<0.05) as compared to control rats (6.13 +/- 0.09 sec) in hot plate test. The antinociceptive behavior of experimental rats was also found quite significant in both phases of formalin-induced pain (61 and 81% respectively; p<0.05) when administered to plant extract at the dose of 400mg/kg body weight as compared to control animals (25 and 40% respectively). Conclusion: Brassica campestris leaves may contain pharmacologically active constituents associated with antinociceptive potential and analgesic effects in rats. The further characterization of those active moieties may be valuable for the treatment of pain and for designing a new analgesic strategy.