THE ADDITIVITY ANTINOCICEPTIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DICLOFENAC AND THE DERRIS SCANDENS EXTRACT DRUG IN MICE.

 Objective: Combination therapy is a valid approach in pain treatment, in which a reduction of doses could reduce side effects and still achieve optimal analgesia. The objective was to determine the effects of coadministered diclofenac and the Derris scandens extract drug.Methods: Acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction test in mice was used to determine the type of interaction between components. The effective dose that produced 50% antinociception (ED50) was calculated from the log dose-response curves of fixed ratio combinations of diclofenac with the D. scandens extract drug. The ED50 was compared to the theoretical additive ED50 calculated from the ED50 of diclofenac and of the D. scandens extract drug alone.Results: Diclofenac and the D. scandens extract drug doseâ€dependently and significantly reduced the abdominal writhing. The combination was the additive effect, the experimental ED50 being smaller than the theoretically calculated ED50. Interaction index of the combination was 0.89.Conclusion: The present study demonstrates the additivity antinociceptive interactions between diclofenac and the D. scandens extract drug and may be used as a combination analgesic in the treatment of pain conditions