Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 750004, People's Republic of China.
Ningxia Hui Medicine Modern Engineering Research Center and Collaborative Innovation Center, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 750004, People's Republic of China.
Neurochem Res. 2018 Dec;43(12):2404-2422. doi: 10.1007/s11064-018-2668-7. Epub 2018 Oct 26.
Neuropathic pain is an intractable disease with few definitive therapeutic options. Anethole (AN) has been confirmed to possess potent anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, but its effect on neuropathic pain has not been reported. The present study was designed to investigate the antinociceptive effect of AN on chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain in mice. AN (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg) and pregabalin (40 mg/kg) were intragastric administered for 8 consecutive days from the 7th day post-surgery. Behavioral parameters were measured on different days, namely, 0, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 14, from CCI operation. Additionally, electrophysiological and histopathological changes were analyzed on the 14th day. Afterward, immunofluorescence and Western blot were utilized to examine the activation of glial cells and the expression of inflammatory cytokines, respectively. AN treatment of CCI mice considerably alleviated hyperalgesia and allodynia, ameliorated abnormal sciatic nerve conduction, and restored injured sciatic nerves in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, AN suppressed the activation of glial cells, down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL-6, and IL-1β), and up-regulated the anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10). These assays first indicated that AN exerted an antinociceptive effect on CCI-induced neuropathic pain, and might be attributed to the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities of AN.
神经病理性疼痛是一种难治性疾病，治疗方法有限。大茴香脑 (AN) 已被证实具有强大的抗炎和神经保护作用，但它对神经病理性疼痛的影响尚未报道。本研究旨在探讨 AN 对慢性缩窄性损伤 (CCI) 诱导的小鼠神经病理性疼痛的镇痛作用。AN (125、250 和 500mg/kg) 和普瑞巴林 (40mg/kg) 于手术后第 7 天开始连续 8 天灌胃给药。在 CCI 手术后的不同天数，即 0、7、8、10、12 和 14 天，测量行为参数。此外，在第 14 天分析电生理和组织病理学变化。随后，利用免疫荧光和 Western blot 分别检测小胶质细胞的激活和炎症细胞因子的表达。AN 治疗 CCI 小鼠可显著减轻痛觉过敏和触诱发痛，改善异常的坐骨神经传导，并以剂量依赖的方式恢复受损的坐骨神经。此外，AN 抑制小胶质细胞的激活，下调肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α)、白细胞介素 (IL-6 和 IL-1β) 等促炎细胞因子的表达，上调抗炎细胞因子 (IL-10)。这些研究结果首次表明，AN 对 CCI 诱导的神经病理性疼痛具有镇痛作用，其机制可能与 AN 的抗炎和神经保护作用有关。
