Evaluation of anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of selected antibiotics in Wistar Albino rats

Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and leukocyte mobilization activities of ciprofloxacin, lincomycin, and erythromycin were evaluated in this study. The study involved two sets of thirty-three adult female Wistar rats assigned into five treatments, grouped into eleven of three rats per group. For agar-induced paw edema, the first three groups were treated 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, and 40 mg/kg of ciprofloxacin, next three groups same doses of lincomycin, next three groups same doses of erythromycin, the tenth group received the reference drug, indomethacin 5 mg/kg while the last group 5 mg/kg normal saline. The analgesic activities group treatments were first nine groups received the three antibiotics in the same trend but at different doses of 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg. The tenth group received acetylsalicylic acid (Asp 100 mg/kg) while the last group received normal saline (5 ml/kg). Erythromycin had minimal effect on rat paw edema with non-significant inhibition. Ciprofloxacin and lincomycin suppressed agar-induced rat paw edema both at early and later phases of edema. Remarkably, lincomycin was most effective. Whereas lincomycin suppressed the action of phospholipase A2 with increasing concentration, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin best inhibited the enzyme at their lowest concentrations. Whereas ciprofloxacin had an analgesic effect, lincomycin and erythromycin did not exhibit analgesic effects. The three antibiotics significantly reduced leucocyte mobilization into the affected tissue especially at the highest dose (40 mg kg⁻¹). Conclusively, based on our findings, we suggest that these antibiotics can be considered for use as anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. The testing drugs prevented leukocyte mobilization.