Original Article Evaluation of Anti-nociceptive and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Novel Chalcone Derivatives

Chalcone (1,3-diarylprop-2-en-1-one) derivatives have been introduced as selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors. In the present study, anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of eight novel compounds were evaluated in male mice and Wistar rats by using the writhing and formalin-induced paw edema tests respectively. The activities of the compounds were compared with celecoxib as a reference drug. Then, novel compounds were divided into two regioisomeric groups based on the position of the methylsulfonyl substitution. Compounds with substituents such as: 1) H, 2) Me, 3) F and 4) Cl at para position of the phenyl ring of (E)-3-(4-Methanesulfonylphenyl)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one were selected in the first group. The regioisomer compounds with 5) H, 6) Me, 7) F and 8) OMe substitutions at C-4 of phenyl ring of (E)-1-(4-Methanesulfonylphenyl)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-one were chosen as second group. All compounds showed dose-dependent anti-nociceptive activity in writhing test. Interestingly, the potency of anti-nociceptive effect of compounds 1, 2, 5 and 6 were significantly higher than celecoxib. The regioisomeric compounds 1 and 5 with high anti-nociceptive effects, showed a significant dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activit