Antinociceptive effect of a ruthenium complex in mice

1. The ruthenium complexes are important tools in inorganic chemistry. Different biological properties are found in the presence of distinct coordinate ligands, which offer a variety of potential clinical and pharmacological uses. 2. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antinociceptive and behavioural effects of the ruthenium complex, trans-[RuCl(2)(i-dinic)(4)]Cl, in mice. 3. The potential analgesic activity was tested using the formalin and hot plate tests and the behavioural effect was evaluated using the rotarod and spontaneous locomotor tests. The complex was administered at concentrations of 1.3, 4.5 and 18.0 mumol kg(-1) i.p. Morphine (6.0 mg kg(-1), i.p.) and diclofenac sodium (20.0 mg kg(-1), i.p.) were used as reference drugs. 4. The compound had no sedative activity on motor ataxia in the behavioural and analgesic tests. No significant effect was observed in the first phase of the formalin test, however, an effect was observed in the second phase. 5. The complex studied was probably more powerful than the reference drugs as an antinociceptive agent, as this mechanism also involved the nitric oxide (NO) pathway. From this perspective, further experimental studies will be useful to understand the effect of these compounds on NO and the relationship between prostaglandin and NO biosynthesis.