Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Fitoterapia. 2012 Jul;83(5):888-95. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2012.03.022. Epub 2012 Mar 28.
The current study was designed to evaluate therapeutic potential of systemically administered ethanolic and aqueous extracts of saffron as well as its bioactive ingredients, safranal and crocin, in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain in rats. The von Frey filaments, acetone drop, and radiant heat test were performed to assess the degree of mechanical allodynia, thermal allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia respectively, at different time intervals, i.e., one day before surgery and 3, 5, 7 and 10 days post surgery. The ambulatory behavior was evaluated using the open field test. A 7-day treatment with the ethanolic and aqueous extracts (50,100 and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) and safranal (0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg, i.p.), attenuated the behavioral symptoms of neuropathic pain in a dose dependent manner. Crocin even at the high dose (50 mg/kg) failed to produce any protective role. However, gabapentine (100 mg/kg) as a reference drug significantly alleviated all behavioral manifestations of neuropathic pain compared to control group. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that ethanolic and aqueous extracts of saffron as well as safranal could be useful in treatment of different kinds of neuropathic pains and as an adjuvant to conventional medicines.
本研究旨在评估腹腔注射藏红花的醇提物和水提物及其生物活性成分西红花醛和藏红花酸在大鼠慢性缩窄性损伤（CCI）诱导的神经性疼痛中的治疗潜力。在不同时间点（手术前一天和手术后 3、5、7 和 10 天），使用 von Frey 细丝、丙酮滴和辐射热测试分别评估机械性痛觉过敏、热痛觉过敏和热痛觉超敏的程度。使用旷场试验评估运动行为。7 天的治疗中，醇提物和水提物（50、100 和 200mg/kg，腹腔注射）和西红花醛（0.025、0.05 和 0.1mg/kg，腹腔注射）以剂量依赖的方式减轻神经性疼痛的行为症状。即使给予高剂量的藏红花酸（50mg/kg），也未能产生任何保护作用。然而，与对照组相比，参考药物加巴喷丁（100mg/kg）显著缓解了所有神经性疼痛的行为表现。总之，本研究结果表明，藏红花的醇提物和水提物以及西红花醛可用于治疗各种神经性疼痛，并可作为传统药物的辅助药物。
