Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) promotes functional recovery and ameliorates oxidative stress following a lesion to the sciatic nerve in mouse model

Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury is one of the major health concerns of the present era which can lead to the long‐lasting disability and even demise. Currently, no effective and side effect free remedy exists and exploration of effective therapeutic strategies to regain functional outcome is a need of hour. In the present study, we used BALB/c mice (N = 14 age, 10–12 weeks & weight 32–34 g) that were divided into two groups: Normal chow (n = 7) and Fennel chow (n = 7) group. Here, we have explored the role of crude Foeniculum vulgare mill seeds in promoting functional recovery following a mechanical insult to the sciatic nerve by an oral administration of a crude dose of 500 mg/kg BW. The recovery of both sensory and motor functions was significantly (p > .05) accelerated in the treatment group, assessed by behavioral analyses alongside total antioxidant capacity increase. Conclusively, F. vulgare can be a potential therapeutic candidate for accelerating functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury. Practical applications The outcomes of study have vital practical application both for scientists and consumers. The therapeutic role of phytochemicals on functional recovery has not been explored yet. This study will help figure out plant based regimen as booster for brain health and intervention against traumatic nerve injuries. Moreover, it may also attract the food and pharmaceutical industries to formulate cost effective therapeutic products. Likewise, it can prove instrumental for scientists for advance research on this aspect with more mechanistic targets.

Strychnos nux-vomica L. seed preparation promotes functional recovery and attenuates oxidative stress in a mouse model of sciatic nerve crush injury

“…We have already reported some plants that promote the earlier functional reclamation following a nerve injury. Even if these studies are preliminary steps but, they account for the ultimate hope for accelerating the regeneration and functional rehabilitation [1,2,7]. The present work is an extension of our preliminary and ongoing efforts to explore the possible role of natural compounds to improve the functional reclamation following PNI.…”

“…The dried seeds were ground into a fine powder of 60 mesh size and mixed in the rodent chow diet at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight throughout the study. The dose adjustment was done according to the literature providing shreds of evidence for N. vomica after detailed research from web sources [1][2][3]. Briefly, it was ensured that an average daily dietary intake of 5 g comprised of the required dose of plant material.…”

“…The affected nerve undergoes an intricate series of pathological modifications and often results in a partial and complete loss of both sensory and motor functions. Although the peripheral nervous system (PNS) possesses an ability of self-repairing after an injury, this process of regeneration is terribly sluggish that subsequently exacerbates the muscular atrophy before re-innervation of the denervated muscles occurs [1,2]. Despite a remarkable work on this aspect, a complete and accurate functional recovery yet remains a challenge.…”

Methanolic extract of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) escalates functional restoration following a compression injury to the sciatic nerve in a mouse model

“…It permits to calculate the in vivo strength of muscle by allowing the mouse to clamp a metal bar of grip strength meter (Bioseb, Chaville, France) which shows the gripping force in units of “N” on screen. Muscle grip strength was recorded individually for both hind paws ipsilateral and contralateral to injury site by using the method as mentioned in earlier studies (Imran et al., 2019; Rasul et al., 2019).…”

“…For mouse, remained unresponsive until 30 s, the latency was recorded as 30 s and the thermal stimulus was abruptly removed to avoid injury. Similarly, the process was repeated two more times with an interval of 2 min in each reading and an average of three values was taken as the final reading (Aziz et al., 2019; Imran et al., 2019).…”