Rat brain endogenous MAO inhibitor (tribulin) activity during carrageenan-induced acute paw inflammation.

The endogenous monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor (tribulin) activity of rat brain was investigated during the course of carrageenan induced acute paw inflammation. The increase in rat brain tribulin activity closely paralleled the time course intensity of the inflammation. The study indicates that, like externally induced stress, internal stress caused by the inflammation induced hyperalgesia can also induce augmented brain tribulin activity. The findings, thus, support the hypothesis that tribulin may function as an endogenous endocoid marker of stress.