Beneficial Effects of Ethanolic Extract of the Medicinal Herb Mucuna Pruriens Against Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Might be Limited in Contusive Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Experimental studies found extracts of Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC, a plant used in the traditional medical systems to possess strong anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties among a wide range of other beneficial effects. Hypothesizing the possibility for a multifaceted beneficial effect, the therapeutic potential of the ethanolic extract of Mucuna pruriens (MP) in treating spinal cord injury (SCI) was tested using the highly standardized Multicenter Animal Spinal Cord Injury Study (MASCIS) animal model of contusive SCI. Male Wister rats with SCI were treated with the ethanolic extract of MP at a dose of 200 mg/kg/day for 10 weeks. The outcome was assessed through molecular, biochemical, histological, and behavioral scoring parameters. Results indicated anti-apoptotic, anti-necrotic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects of MP. Nevertheless, many of these beneficial effects were not statistically significant and there was no functional improvement due to MP treatment. MP at comparable doses was reported to be significantly effective in mitigating oxidative stress and/or inflammation under various other pathological conditions. Lack of significance in the present study could be due to the presence of blood-spinal cord-barrier; that might have prevented the components of MP from reaching spinal cord tissue in adequate quantities. Additionally, heterogeneity in the function of the cells typical to the CNS environment could be the reason for the failure of recovery. To conclude, the limitations posed by the structural and functional distinctions in the spinal cord environment in comparison to other non-CNS tissue environments deserve attention while adjudicating the efficacies of herbal remedies for SCI.