Effect of topical application of Brazilian propolis on scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in mice.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We investigated the effect of topical application of Brazilian propolis on scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in mice.

RESULTS

Propolis inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior when applied immediately after treatment with propolis at a dose of 3 mg/site. Dibucaine 0.3 mg/site also significantly inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior immediately after application. On the other hand, propolis inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior even 15, 30 and 60 min after application; however, dibucaine showed no significant inhibition of compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior 15, 30 and 60 min after application. In addition, propolis had no effect on increased vascular permeability just after application, but the drug had a significant effect 15, 30 and 60 min after application. On the contrary, histamine-induced scratching behavior was inhibited significantly by propolis just after application. On the other hand, propolis significantly inhibited histamine release from rat mast cells induced by compound 48/80 at a concentration of more than 10 microg/ml.

CONCLUSION

From these results, it can be concluded that inhibition of scratching behavior induced by topical application occurred by both its local anesthetic and systemic action through inhibition of histamine release.