Abstract:
In Sri Lanka,about 35% of the population are primarily
dependent on Ayur\'eda and traditional systems of health
cure.' Sri Lankan traditional medical practitioners
especially in the Uva province often recommend
chewing of fresh yellow flowers of Spilanthes acmella
Mnrr(Fami!y:Compositae, Sinhala: Acmella, Tamil:
Akkirakaran) to suppress acute tooth ache. In Sri
Lankan Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia it is indicated that
the juice of fresh flowers of this plant possesses several
phamiacological properties including analgesic and antiinnammatory
activities However, these claimed
iicliviiies are neither scientifically proven nor refuted.
I he aim of this study was to assess the antinociceptive
potential of .S'. acmella flowers in rats using tail flick'
iind hot plate' tests, two well defined and commonly
used algesimetric tests based on phasic stimulus of high
intensity
