The management of pain is a world health issue. Available painkillers induce undesired side effects and are sometimes inefficient. Spirulina biomass has promoted anti-inflammatory activity in preclinical and clinical trials. This work characterizes the antinociceptive properties of Spirulina platensis LEB-18 biomass (SP-LEB18) and their mechanisms of action. In the CFA model in mice, SP-LEB18 reduced paw edema and mechanical allodynia, confirming its anti-inflammatory action and showing its antinociceptive activity. Cytokines levels were evaluated by ELISA; SP-LEB18 promoted an increase of IL-10 levels and a reduction of TNF-α and IL-1β levels. SP-LEB18 promoted centrally mediated antinociception, as indicated by the tail flick test. When the same set of experiments was conducted with IL-10 knockout mice, the antinociception was still detected in the tail flick test, but not in the CFA model. Pretreatment with naloxone abolished the effect of SP-LEB18, demonstrating a pure antinociceptive action of Spirulina biomass via the opioid system.

疼痛的管理是世界卫生问题。可用的止痛药会引起不良的副作用，有时效果不佳。螺旋藻生物质已在临床前和临床试验中促进了抗炎活性。这项工作表征了螺旋藻的镇痛特性LEB-18生物量（SP-LEB18）及其作用机理。在小鼠的CFA模型中，SP-LEB18减轻了爪水肿和机械性异常性疼痛，证实了其抗炎作用并显示出抗伤害感受活性。通过ELISA评估细胞因子水平；SP-LEB18促进了IL-10水平的升高以及TNF-α和IL-1β水平的降低。如甩尾试验所示，SP-LEB18促进了中枢介导的抗伤害感受。当用IL-10基因敲除小鼠进行同一组实验时，仍在甩尾试验中检测到抗伤害感受，但在CFA模型中未检测到。纳洛酮预处理消除了SP-LEB18的作用，证明了螺旋藻生物质通过阿片样物质系统具有纯镇痛作用。