Piperine exerts anti-inflammatory effects and antagonises the properties of celecoxib and ketoprofen: <i>in vivo</i> and molecular docking studies

This study evaluates the anti-inflammatory effects of a natural product, piperine (PPN), using <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in silico</i> methodologies. In the <i>in vivo</i> segment, inflammation was induced in the right hind paw of young chicks <i>via</i> a formalin (50 μL) injection. PPN was orally administered at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg with or without celecoxib (CXB) and/or ketoprofen (KPN) (42 mg/kg). The vehicle acted as the negative control group (NC). The <i>in silico</i> analysis predicted the drug-likeness, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity profile of PPN, along with evaluating its binding affinity and ligand-receptor interactions. Results indicate that PPN significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) reduced licking frequency and paw edoema in a dose-dependent manner. However, in combination therapy, PPN diminished the effects of both CXB and KPN. PPN showed high affinity (-8.6 kcal/mol) towards the COX-2 enzyme. Therefore, PPN exerts anti-inflammatory effects in chicks through COX-2 inhibition pathways and antagonises CXB and KPN activities.