Takeda Mamoru, Sashide Yukito
Laboratory of Food and Physiological Sciences, Department of Life and Food Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Azabu University, 1-17-71, Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara 252-5201, Kanagawa, Japan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jun 30;26(13):6305. doi: 10.3390/ijms26136305.
Recently, complementary and alternative medicine have been actively employed for patients experiencing symptoms unresponsive to Western medical treatments like drug therapy. Natural compounds, including polyphenols, carotenoids, and omega fatty acids, have demonstrated various beneficial biological actions for human health in several studies. Given their broad pharmacological activities and reduced toxicity, these compounds possess significant potential as resources for the development of natural analgesic drugs. Given recent studies showing that natural compounds can modulate neuronal excitability (including nociceptive sensory transmission through mechanoreceptors and voltage-gated ion channels) and inhibit the cyclooxygenase-2 cascade, these compounds hold promise as complementary and alternative medicine candidates, particularly as therapeutic agents for nociceptive and pathological pain. This review focuses on elucidating the mechanisms by which natural compounds modulate neuronal electrical signals-including generator potentials, action potentials, and postsynaptic potentials-in nociceptive pathway neurons, potentially leading to local and intravenous anesthetic effects, as well as inflammatory pain relief. Specifically, we discuss the contribution of natural compounds to the relief of nociceptive and/or pathological pain and their potential clinical application, drawing on our recent published in vivo studies.
最近，补充和替代医学已被积极应用于那些对药物治疗等西医治疗无反应的症状患者。在多项研究中，包括多酚、类胡萝卜素和ω脂肪酸在内的天然化合物已证明对人类健康具有多种有益的生物学作用。鉴于其广泛的药理活性和较低的毒性，这些化合物作为天然镇痛药开发资源具有巨大潜力。鉴于最近的研究表明天然化合物可以调节神经元兴奋性（包括通过机械感受器和电压门控离子通道的伤害性感觉传递）并抑制环氧合酶-2级联反应，这些化合物有望成为补充和替代医学候选药物，特别是作为伤害性和病理性疼痛的治疗剂。本综述重点阐述天然化合物调节伤害性感受通路神经元中神经元电信号（包括发生器电位、动作电位和突触后电位）的机制，这可能导致局部和静脉麻醉作用以及缓解炎性疼痛。具体而言，我们借鉴最近发表的体内研究，讨论天然化合物对缓解伤害性和/或病理性疼痛的贡献及其潜在的临床应用。
