Ameliorative potential of Ocimum sanctum in chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain in rats.

Gurpreet Kaur,Nirmal Singh,Anjana Bali,Amteshwar S Jaggi

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201520130008

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the ameliorative potential of Ocimum sanctum and its saponin rich fraction in chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain in rats. The chronic constriction injury was induced by placing four loose ligatures around the sciatic nerve, proximal to its trifurcation. The mechanical hyperalgesia, cold allodynia, paw heat hyperalgesia and cold tail hyperalgesia were assessed by performing the pinprick, acetone, hot plate and cold tail immersion tests, respectively. Biochemically, the tissue thio-barbituric acid reactive species, super-oxide anion content (markers of oxidative stress) and total calcium levels were measured. Chronic constriction injury was associated with the development of mechanical hyperalgesia, cold allodynia, heat and cold hyperalgesia along with an increase in oxidative stress and calcium levels. However, administration of Ocimum sanctum (100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) and its saponin rich fraction (100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) for 14 days significantly attenuated chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain as well as decrease the oxidative stress and calcium levels. It may be concluded that saponin rich fraction of Ocimum sanctum has ameliorative potential in attenuating painful neuropathic state, which may be attributed to a decrease in oxidative stress and calcium levels.

Highlights

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines neuropathic pain as “initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system” and defines neuropathic due to disordered peripheral or central nerves (Merskey et al 1994)
The chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve resulted in the development of cold allodynia as reflected by an increase in the duration of hind paw withdrawal, when compared to normal control group
The effect of saponin rich fraction in attenuating cold allodynia was significantly higher than the hydro-alcoholic extract at the same dose levels

Summary

Introduction

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines neuropathic pain as “initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system” and defines neuropathic due to disordered peripheral or central nerves (Merskey et al 1994). Chronic constriction injury produces unilateral peripheral neuropathy due to compression of the sciatic nerve and it has been extensively used in research for the analysis of sensory abnormalities associated with entrapment neuropathy (Nakamura and Atsuta 2006). All the parts of the Ocimum sanctum plant like fresh leaves, juice, seeds and volatile oil are very beneficial to the health of humans. It possesses diverse protective effects including hepato-protective, immuno-modulatory, anti-ulcer, anti-diabetic, anti-hypercholesterolaemic, nerve tonic, chemo-protective, nootropic, antitussive, antiinflammatory, wound healing, anti-tumorigenesis, anti-convulsant, anthelmintic, anti-bacterial, antianxiety, and anti-stress activities (Jaggi et al 2003, Yanpallewar et al 2004, de Almeida et al 2007, Bhattacharyya et al 2008, Baliga et al 2013). Our laboratory documented that Ocimum sanctum has ameliorative potential in attenuating sciatic nerve transection and vincristine-induced neuropathic pain (Muthuraman et al 2008b, Kaur et al 2010)

Methods

Results

Conclusion