Flurbiprofen: Determination of safety profile, analgesic effect, and interaction with lipoic acid in murine

Abstract

our study aimed study aimed to detect and investigate the safety profile of flurbiprofen and evaluate the analgesic effects of the tail immersion and writhing tests, as well as its interaction with lipoic acid as an analgesic for visceral pain in mice. The up-and-down manner described by Dixon was utilized to determine the median lethal dose (LD50) and the median analgesic dose (ED50), the safety criteria were calculated, mathematical equations were applied, and the interaction between flurbiprofen and alpha-lipoic acid was evaluated using the writhing test. The LD50 of oral flurbiprofen was 1147.4 mg/kg, and the ED50 of oral flurbiprofen was 8.6 mg/kg using the tail immersion test. The therapeutic index was 133, and the standard safety margin was 35%. The highest analgesia time was one h after dosing, which faded after 24 h. Administration of flurbiprofen 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg had an analgesic effect in a dose-dependent manner. Flurbiprofen relieved visceral pain when dosed at 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg, with analgesic efficacies of 53, 56, and 65%, respectively. The simultaneous administration of flurbiprofen and alpha-lipoic acid had a synergistic analgesic effect on visceral pain. From our results, we conclude that flurbiprofen has a wide range of safety and is an effective analgesic for peripheral and visceral pain. The synergistic effect between flurbiprofen and alpha-lipoic acid may have clinical benefits, including reducing the dose of flurbiprofen when used together.

Keywords

• flurbiprofen
• analgesia
• tail immersion test
• writhing test
• lipoic acid