Vol. 280, Issue 2, 934-940, 1997

Naloxone-Reversible Antinociception by Paracetamol in the Rat¹

L. A. Pini, G. Vitale, A. Ottani and M. Sandrini

Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology Unit (L.A.P., G.V.), and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology (A.O., M.S.), University of Modena, Italy

Paracetamol at the dose of 400 mg/kg i.p. displayed antinociceptive activity in the hot-plate test and the formalin test. Moreover, it induced a significant increase in brain serotonin (5-HT) concentration and a reduction in the number of 5-HT₂ receptors in cortical membranes. Pretreatment with naloxone abolished this antinociceptive activity both in the hot-plate test and in the first phase of the formalin test without affecting the serum concentration of paracetamol. At the same time, naloxone prevented the increase in 5-HT concentration in the central nervous system and the reduction in 5-HT₂ receptors in cortical membranes. Competition experiments demonstrated that paracetamol possesses affinity for [³H]naloxone binding sites. The action of morphine on nociception and on the serotonergic system was similar to that of paracetamol; all morphine-induced effects were blocked by naloxone. These data provide further evidence for a central antinociceptive effect of paracetamol and support the hypothesis that paracetamol exerts its antinociceptive activity through the serotonergic system. Moreover, our results point to the relationship between serotonergic and opiatergic systems in the antinociceptive activity of paracetamol.