---
abstract: "Buprenorphine has been widely recommended for treatment of pain in rodents. We have previously documented that the recommended postoperative oral dose of buprenorphine in male Long-Evans rats, 0.5 mg/kg, is not as effective as the recommended parenteral dose of buprenorphine (0.05 mg/kg, s.c.) as an analgesic (21). In the series of experiments reported here, we compared: the analgesic effect of buprenorphine when prepared in two ways in the laboratory with that of a commercially available injectable solution of buprenorphine; the analgesic effect of buprenorphine in Long-Evans rats with that in Sprague-Dawley rats; and Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats for development of pica, a commonly reported side effect of buprenorphine. We followed the pica experiment with assessment of the effectiveness of buprenorphine in establishing a conditioned flavor aversion. The results indicated that method of preparation did not result in any significant differences in the efficacy of injected buprenorphine. Strain of rat was not associated with a significant difference in the efficacy of buprenorphine. However, a significant strain difference was found in development of pica. Buprenorphine treatment was effective in inducing a conditioned flavor aversion. We concluded that the recommended oral dose of buprenorphine (0.5 mg/kg) is ineffective as an analgesic, and that this was not the result of method of preparation of the buprenorphine or strain of rat used. Furthermore, we\r\nconcluded that buprenorphine treatment may induce gastrointestinal distress in both strains tested. The results reaffirm our previous conclusion that oral administration of buprenorphine at 0.5 mg/kg, despite the general recommendation, is not a reasonable treatment for postsurgical pain in rats."
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creators_id:
  - ''
  - kristal@buffalo.edu
  - ''
  - ''
  - ''
  - ''
creators_name:
  - family: Thompson
    given: Alexis C.
    honourific: Dr.
    lineage: ''
  - family: Kristal
    given: Mark B.
    honourific: Dr.
    lineage: ''
  - family: Sallaj
    given: Abdullah
    honourific: Mr.
    lineage: ''
  - family: Acheson
    given: Ashley
    honourific: Mr.
    lineage: ''
  - family: Martin
    given: Lisa B.E.
    honourific: Dr.
    lineage: ''
  - family: Martin
    given: Thomas
    honourific: Dr.
    lineage: ''
date: 2004-06
date_type: published
datestamp: 2007-10-15 11:30:46
department: ~
dir: disk0/00/00/57/55
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eprint_status: archive
eprintid: 5755
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full_text_status: public
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keywords: ~
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:56:58
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metadata_visibility: show
note: 'buprenorphine, analgesia, rat, pain, strain, flavor aversion, pica'
number: 3
pagerange: 293-300
pubdom: FALSE
publication: Comparative Medicine
publisher: American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
refereed: TRUE
referencetext: ~
relation_type: []
relation_uri: []
reportno: ~
rev_number: 24
series: ~
source: ~
status_changed: 2007-10-15 11:30:46
subjects:
  - neuro-pharm
succeeds: ~
suggestions: ~
sword_depositor: ~
sword_slug: ~
thesistype: ~
title: "Analgesic efficacy of orally administered\r\nbuprenorphine in rats: methodologic\r\nconsiderations"
type: journalp
userid: 88
volume: 54
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