Abstract
Tramadol is an opioid-like analgesic with relatively mild side effects. Because it is inexpensive and is not classified as a controlled substance by the US federal government, the authors wanted to evaluate its applicability as a practical and effective analgesic in male Sprague Dawley rats. They measured the efficacy of four dosages (4, 12.5, 25 or 50 mg tramadol per kg body weight) and three routes of administration (per os (p.o.) in a flavored gelatin cube, subcutaneous (s.c.) or intraperitoneal (i.p.)) using the hot-plate test and the tail-flick test, which were carried out 1 week apart. Rats that were dosed p.o. were given flavored gelatin cubes without tramadol on the 2 d before testing to help them become acclimated to the gelatin, in an effort to increase the likelihood that they would consume the gelatin on the testing day. Results from the hot-plate and tail-flick tests for rats that were given tramadol p.o. were similar before and after administration, regardless of tramadol dosage, suggesting that this route of administration was not effective. The s.c. route of administration was effective at dosages of 25 mg and 50 mg tramadol per kg body weight, although these dosages also resulted in sedation and skin lesions. The i.p. route of administration was also effective at dosages of 12.5 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg tramadol per kg body weight, though sedation was observed at dosages of 25 mg and 50 mg per kg body weight. Intraperitoneal administration of 12.5 mg tramadol per kg body weight had no notable side effects, and the authors plan to further study this dosage and route of administration in a rodent surgical model of pain.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Danielle Waxer, Page Myers, James Clark, Sandy Hackney, Jenetta Jackson and Keisha Chavis for their assistance and support of the research and care of the animals. We thank Dr. Larry Wright for assistance in literature evaluation. We thank Dr. Sheryl Moy, Dr. Greg Travlos and Dr. Gregory Cannon for their extensive reviews of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
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Cannon, C., Kissling, G., Hoenerhoff, M. et al. Evaluation of dosages and routes of administration of tramadol analgesia in rats using hot-plate and tail-flick tests. Lab Anim 39, 342–351 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban1110-342
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban1110-342
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