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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2023, 25, N2 (pages: 5 - 11)

The effect of Raha syrup on the development of morphine tolerance and dependence on rats

Haerifar F., Zahedi-Khorasani M., Ghanbari A., and Miladi-Gorji H.

Summary: Background: Chronic morphine treatment produces morphine tolerance and dependence which complicates treatment. The popularity of medicinal plants as a complementary and alternative treatment has grown considerably in the treatment of drug addiction in recent years. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Raha syrup on the development of analgesic tolerance and physical dependence on morphine in rats. Methods: In this study, rats were treated with morphine and oral gavaged with Raha syrup during the induction of morphine tolerance and/or dependence. Then, rats were tested for the maximum possible effect percentage of morphine on the first, fourth and eighth days to assess morphine analgesic tolerance using a hot plate test. Also, the severity of physical dependence on morphine was evaluated using behavioural assessment of naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal signs according to a modified version of the Gellert–Holtzman scale. Results: We observed that oral Raha syrup gavage before morphine injection failed to maintain the analgesic effect of morphine compared to control and had no effect on morphine analgesic tolerance. Also, the results showed oral Raha syrup gavage during induction of morphine dependence decreased the overall Gellert–Holtzman score, abdominal contraction and loss weight in rats. Conclusion: We conclude that oral Raha syrup gavage attenuated the severity of physical dependence on morphine, while not affecting tolerance to morphine-induced analgesia. It must therefore be concluded that Raha syrup can be an alternative treatment for opiate addicted individuals.