Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of Centalla asiatica (L.) urban in ovariohysterectomy cats

Abstract

Centella asiatica Linn Urban (CA) is a medicinal herb with long history using in traditional medicine in Asian. Previous studies showed excellent activities of anti inflammatory and anti-nociceptive using CA on human and animal models. The potential of using CA as a remedy in feline pain management to fill up the choose shortage is worth investigating. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of CA extract in oral formulation for the treatment of post-operative pain and inflammation in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. The study has two parts: first, the toxicity study part, 16 female and 7 male client owned mixed-breed healthy cats were recruited. Second, the anti-inflammatory and anti nociceptive activity study part, 18 female client-owned mixed-breed healthy cats were recruited. The cats in each study were randomly invited into 3 groups: the control group received placebo without CA; the low dose group received 100 mg/kg/d of CA extract powder and the high dose group received 200 mg/kg/d of CA extract powder. In the toxicity study, the cats received the dose once per day for 14 days orally. The food intake, water intake, urination amount, urination times, defecation amount and fecal score of each cat were record once per day. The complete blood count, serum biochemistry, and body weight were tested on day 7 and day 14. The data for CBC and h serum biochemistry were analyzed by mixed model with repeated measurement (p < 0.05) using R studio and there found no statistically different between group. In the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activity study, the cats underwent ovariohysterectomy and administered the CA extract powder mixed in snack orally at 12 h before surgery and 4 h, 24h, 48h, 72h after surgery. Anesthetic protocol included acepromazine–morphine–ketamine–propofol–isoflurane. Serum amyloid A (SAA) and WBC were tested at 23 hours after surgery as the index of inflammation in acute phase reaction. The UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale was evaluated at 4 h, 8 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after surgery. Meloxicam (0.05mg/kg, SC) was given if the score ⩾6. Wound-healing score were assessed by pictures token at right after the surgery and 1 day, 2 days, 3 days after the surgery of each cat’s wound using Southampton Wound Assessment Scale. The data of WBC and SAA is compared between groups by ANOVA (p < 0.05) using R studio. Scheirer-Ray-Hare test was used to analyze the ordinal score: pain score and wound-healing score (p < 0.05) by R studio. The results of the CBC and serum biochemistry tests showed no concerning difference between groups. The pain score result showed that in high dose group had significantly lower score than control group [ppain score= 0.007]. SAA, WBC and wound-healing results showed no significant difference among groups [pWBC=0.44, pSAA=0.81, pwound score=0.66]. In conclusion, 200 mg/kg/d of CA extract powder could be safely used as an alternative in feline acute post-surgery pain management.