In vivo and in silico elucidation of possible potential and mechanisms involved in the analgesic action of ethanolic extract of Lavandula Stoechas

Abstract Objectives Our research focused on plant’s ethanolic extract Lavandula stoechas flower part to investigate the potential analgesic effects and possible pathways involvements. Methods Four experimental tests were performed on Swiss albino mice with five animals in each group at different doses (50, 100, and 200mg/kg); formalin test, tail-flick test, acetic acid-induced writhing, and hot-plate test. The opioidergic, noradrenergic, cholinergic, and K channel blockers in the analgesic actions were also carried out for the potential route involvement. Key finding The percentage inhibition for abdominal writhing’s and formalin activity showed a dose-dependent manner for early and late phases reducing abdominal writhing’s and time period of licking, respectively. Tail immersion and hot-plate test demonstrated a substantial and dose-dependent increase in the latency time and time period of paw liking and jumping response respectively. GC–MS showed the abundantly present compounds were octadecatrienoic acid (34.35%), n-hexadecanoic acid (12.98%). In silico analyses have revealed three compounds that had good interactions with 6y3c receptor proteins, demonstrating strong binding affinities and satisfying docking parameters. Conclusions Overall, these studies showed that ethanolic extract of L. stoechas is an important medicinal plant, with both central and peripheral antinociceptive and analgesic activities supporting its traditional use for therapeutic purposes.