Background and aim: We investigated the effect of topical application of Brazilian propolis on scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in mice.
Results: Propolis inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior when applied immediately after treatment with propolis at a dose of 3 mg/site. Dibucaine 0.3 mg/site also significantly inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior immediately after application. On the other hand, propolis inhibited compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior even 15, 30 and 60 min after application; however, dibucaine showed no significant inhibition of compound 48/80-induced scratching behavior 15, 30 and 60 min after application. In addition, propolis had no effect on increased vascular permeability just after application, but the drug had a significant effect 15, 30 and 60 min after application. On the contrary, histamine-induced scratching behavior was inhibited significantly by propolis just after application. On the other hand, propolis significantly inhibited histamine release from rat mast cells induced by compound 48/80 at a concentration of more than 10 microg/ml.
Conclusion: From these results, it can be concluded that inhibition of scratching behavior induced by topical application occurred by both its local anesthetic and systemic action through inhibition of histamine release.