Summary
The effect of pentazocine on the capsaicininduced cough reflex in rats was investigated. Intraperitoneal injection of pentazocine, in doses from 1 to 10 mg/kg, significantly decreased the number of coughs in a dose-dependent manner. The antitussive effect of pentazocine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was significantly reduced by prior injection of naloxone (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.), but it was unaffected by Mr-2266 BS (5 mg/kg, i.p.), an antagonist of κ-opioid receptors. The antinociceptive potency of pentazocine (30 mg/kg, i.p.), as determined by the formalin test, was significantly reduced by pretreatment with Mr-2266 BS (5 mg/kg, i.p.), whereas naloxane (0.3 mg/ kg, i.p.) had no significant effect on the antinociceptive effect of pentazocine. The antitussive effects of pentazocine (3 mg/kg) and morphine (0.1 mg/kg) were significantly enhanced in rats treated chronically with naloxone (5 mg/kg/day, 5 days), whereas the antitussive effect of U-50,488 H (1 mg/kg, i.p.), a selective κ-opioid agonist, was not enhanced in these rats. By contrast, the antinociceptive effect of morphine (0.01 mg/kg, i.p.) was significantly enhanced in rats that had been pretreated chronically with naloxone. However, the antinociceptive effects induced by pentazocine (3 mg/kg, i.p.) and U-50,488 H (1 mg/kg, i.p.) were unchanged. These results suggest that pentazocine-induced antitussive effects in rats are mediated via stimulation of µ-opioid receptors.
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Kamei, J., Katsuma, K. & Kasuya, Y. Involvement of µ-opioid receptors in the antitussive effects of pentazocine. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol 345, 203–208 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165737
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165737