Evaluation of 3,6-dibutanoylmorphine as an analgesic in vivo: comparison with morphine and 3,6-diacetylmorphine.

Dibutanoylmorphine (DBM), a synthetic diester of morphine, was compared with morphine (M) and diacetylmorphine (DAM) for analgesic efficacy, potency and duration of action following I.V. administration in rats. Analgesia was assessed in groups of eight animals using both tail-flick and hot-plate testing methods following random administration of five different doses of each drug. DBM was found to be substantially more potent than M, but less potent than DAM in both tail-Flick and hot-plate tests of nociception. Similarly, assessment of duration of action at the ED50 for each drug revealed that DBM has a duration of analgesia which is intermediate between the durations of M and DAM. Thus, in rats in vivo, DBM is an effective analgesic and has a reasonable duration of action release to other opioids.