Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Metronidazole Treatment On Carrageenan Induced Paw Edema in Mice

Year 2022, Volume: 47 Issue: 2, 175 - 182, 01.08.2022

Inci Kazkayası Gökçen Telli

Abstract

Objective: Metronidazole is a nitroimidazole derivative antibiotic that
has been used against protozoa and anaerobic organisms for a long time.
Furthermore, it has been used in non-infectious inflammatory diseases
such as acne, Crohn’s disease, periorificial dermatitis, rosacea and
seborrheic dermatitis recently. However, the studies about this issue are
very few and its mechanism of action is unknown. The aim of our study
is to evaluate the possible anti-inflammatory activity of metronidazole in
vivo by using the mice- carrageenan-induced paw edema method.
Material and Method: Mice were administered a single dose of 2, 20
or 200 mg/kg metronidazole via oral gavage. One hour later, 2%
carrageenan was injected sub-plantar to the hind paws. The paw
thickness of mice was measured just before the carrageenan injection
and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 24 and 48 hours after injection by dial thickness
gauge. For comparison, another group of mice received indomethacin (10
mg/kg, orally) used as a reference drug. IL-1β and TNF-α levels in the
paws of mice were measured by the ELISA method. ANOVA (post-hoc
Bonferroni) and Student’s t tests were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Metronidazole displayed equi-potent anti-inflammatory activity
with indomethacin in the carrageenan-induced mouse paw edema model.
It is shown that less edema occurred at all doses (2, 20 and 200 mg/kg)
compared to the control group and no differences were obtained in effect
between the doses. It was observed that in metronidazole treated groups,
paw thickness returned to baseline values 48 hours after carrageenan
injection, unlike the control group. IL-1β and TNF-α levels, which were
increased with carrageenan injection, were significantly decreased with
metronidazole treatment.
Conclusions: In our study, metronidazole was found to be antiinflammatory
due to its effects on relieving edema and reducing proinflammatory
cytokines in the paws of carrageenan-induced mice. The
effectiveness of metronidazole in treating various non-infectious diseases
in recent years may be due to its anti-inflammatory activity.

Keywords

Metronidazole, anti-inflammatory activity, mouse, paw-edema test

References

• Akamatsu, H., Oguchi, M., Nishijima, S., Asada, Y., Takahashi, M., Ushijima, T., & Niwa, Y. (1990). The inhibition of free radical generation by human neutrophils through the synergistic effects of metronidazole with palmitoleic acid: a possible mechanism of action of metronidazole in rosacea and acne. Arch Dermatol Res, 282(7), 449-454.doi:10.1007/BF00402621