Vitexin inhibits inflammatory pain in mice by targeting TRPV1, oxidative stress, and cytokines.

The flavonoid vitexin (1) is a flavone C-glycoside (apigenin-8-C-β-D-glucopyranoside) present in several medicinal and other plants. Plant extracts containing 1 are reported to possess antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, the only evidence that 1 exhibits antinociceptive activity was demonstrated in the acetic acid-induced writhing model. Therefore, the analgesic effects and mechanisms of 1 were evaluated. In the present investigation, intraperitoneal treatment with 1 dose-dependently inhibited acetic acid-induced writhing. Furthermore, treatment with 1 also inhibited pain-like behavior induced by phenyl-p-benzoquinone, complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), capsaicin (an agonist of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1, TRPV1), and both phases of the formalin test. It was also observed that inhibition of carrageenan-, capsaicin-, and chronic CFA-induced mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia occurred. Regarding the antinociceptive mechanisms of 1, it prevented the decrease of reduced glutathione levels, ferric-reducing ability potential, and free-radical scavenger ability, inhibited the production of hyperalgesic cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-33, and up-regulated the levels of the anti-hyperalgesic cytokine IL-10. These results demonstrate that 1 exhibits an analgesic effect in a variety of inflammatory pain models by targeting TRPV1 and oxidative stress and by modulating cytokine production.