Analgesic Activity of Water Extract of Spilanthes acmella Flowers on Rats

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