Abstract
Angelica dahurica, belonging to the family Apiaceae, is a well-known herbal medicine. The roots of Angelica dahurica are commonly used for the treatment of headache, toothache, abscess, furunculosis, and acne. However, little is known about their analgesic molecular mechanism underlying pain relief. In this study, we used behavioral tests to assess the analgesic effect of the ADE (Angelica dahurica extracts) on CFA (complete Freund's adjuvant)-induced inflammatory pain mice models. TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily V Member 1) protein activity in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) was assessed with a calcium imaging assay. TRPV1 expression was detected with western blot and immunohistochemistry. Then, we examined the constituents of ADE using combined ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-light mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS). Our results showed that ADE effectively attenuated mechanical and thermal hypersensitivities in CFA-induced inflammatory pain model in mice. ADE also significantly reduced the activity and the protein expression of TRPV1 in DRG from CFA mice. Therefore, ADE might be an attractive and suitable analgesic agent for the management of chronic inflammatory pain.