Roscoe Rhizomes Attenuate Oxaliplatin-Induced Neuropathic Pain in Mice.

Oxaliplatin is a platinum derivative chemotherapeutic drug widely used against cancers, but even a single treatment can induce a severe allodynia that requires treatment interruption and dose diminution. The rhizome of roscoe (, ginger), has been widely used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases causing pain; however, its effect against oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain has never been assessed. In mice, a single oxaliplatin (6 mg/kg, i.p.) treatment induced significant cold and mechanical allodynia. Cold and mechanical allodynia were assessed by acetone drop and von Frey filament tests, respectively. Water extracts of (100, 300, and 500 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly attenuated both cold and mechanical allodynia induced by oxaliplatin. Intrathecal pre-treatment with the antagonist 5-HT (NAN-190, i.t., 1 μg), but not with the antagonist 5-HT (ketanserin, i.t., 1 μg), significantly blocked the analgesic effect of against both cold and mechanical allodynia. However, 5-HT antagonist (MDL-72222, i.t., 15 μg) administration only blocked the anti-allodynic effect of against cold allodynia. Real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that significantly increased the mRNA expression of the spinal 5-HT receptor that was downregulated after oxaliplatin injection. These results suggest that may be a viable treatment option for oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain.