Effect of curcumin in mice model of vincristine-induced neuropathy

Abstract

Context: Curcumin exhibits a wide spectrum of biological activities which include neuroprotective, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity. Objective: The present study evaluates the effect of curcumin in vincristine-induced neuropathy in a mice model. Materials and methods: Vincristine sulfate (0.1 mg/kg, i.p. for 10 consecutive days) was administered to mice to induce neuropathy. Pain behavior was assessed at different days, i.e., 0, 7, 10, and 14 d. Sciatic nerve total calcium, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO), and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were also estimated after the 14th day of study. Pregabalin (10 mg/kg, p.o.) and curcumin (15, 30, and 60 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered for 14 consecutive days. Results: Curcumin at 60 mg/kg significantly attenuated the vincristine-induced neuropathic pain manifestations in terms of thermal hyperalgesia (p50.001) and allodynia (p50.001); mechanical hyperalgesia (p50.001); functional loss (p50.001); and in the delayed phase of formalin test (p50.001). Curcumin at 30 and 60 mg/kg exhibited significant changes (p50.001) in antioxidant levels and in total calcium levels in vincristine-injected mice. Conclusion: Curcumin at 30 and 60 mg/kg dose levels significantly attenuated vincristineinduced neuropathy which may be due to its multiple actions including antinociceptive, calcium inhibitory, and antioxidant effect.

Promoting peripheral myelin repair

“…Similarly, utilizing R98C MPZ mutant mice, it was reported that curcumin mitigates peripheral neuropathy through alleviating ER stress (Patzko et al, 2012). In independent studies, curcumin relieved neuropathic pain induced by toxins or diabetes (Al Moundhri et al, 2013; Babu et al, 2015; Joshi et al, 2013; Zhao et al, 2014). While these positive reports in rodents are encouraging, various studies indicate that curcumin has a poor bioavailability, which limits its use in controlled clinical trials.…”

Integrative neuromuscular medicine: Neuropathy and neuropathic pain: Consider the alternatives

“…Curcumin has been shown to lower oxidative stress, pain, and inflammation, and to have neuroprotective effects . It has demonstrated antinociceptive activity in rat models of diabetes‐, alcohol‐, and chemotherapy‐induced neuropathic pain . Human studies of curcumin in neuropathy are lacking, but 1 larger RCT showed improved VAS for pain in an add‐on study using a nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug ± ALA ±400 mg of twice‐daily curcumin and piperine (often used in combination with curcumin to increase its bioavailability) …”

Minimizing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: preclinical and clinical development of new perspectives

“…On the other hand, curcumin improved thermal hyperalgesia, thermal allodynia, mechanical hyperalgesia and functional loss in vincristine-treated animals. These behavioral improvements were also associated with a decrease of oxidative stress process in the sciatic nerve [73].…”

“…Curcumin, an antioxidant polyphenol isolated from Curcuma longa, has presented interesting effects in an animal model of chronic cisplatin-, oxaliplatin-, and vincristineinduced neuropathy [73,74]. On the one hand, curcumin had no effect on the pain behavior of platinum-treated animals but improved morphological alterations of sciatic nerves [74].…”