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J Brachial Plex Peripher Nerve Inj 2010; 05(01): e3-e11
DOI: 10.1186/1749-7221-5-3
Research article
Kaur et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Exploring the potential effect of Ocimum sanctum in vincristine-induced neuropathic pain in rats[*]

Gurpreet Kaur
1   Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala, India
,
Amteshwar Singh Jaggi
1   Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala, India
,
Nirmal Singh
1   Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Punjabi University, Patiala, India
› Author Affiliations
Subject Editor:
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Publication History

29 July 2009

25 January 2010

Publication Date:
19 September 2014 (online)

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Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the ameliorative potential of Ocimum sanctum and its saponin rich fraction in vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathic pain in rats. Peripheral neuropathy was induced in rats by administration of vincristine sulfate (50 μg/kg i.p. ) for 10 consecutive days. 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 (TBARS), super-oxide anion content (markers of oxidative stress) and total calcium levels were measured. Vincristine administration was associated with the development of mechanical hyperalgesia, cold allodynia, heat and cold hyperalgesia. Furthermore, vincristine administration was also associated 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 vincristine-induced neuropathic pain along with decrease in oxidative stress and calcium levels. It may be concluded that Ocimum sanctum has ameliorative potential in attenuating chemotherapy induced-painful neuropathic state, which may be attributed to decrease in oxidative stress and calcium levels. Furthermore, saponin rich fraction of Ocimum sanctum may be responsible for its noted beneficial effect in neuropathic pain in rats.

*This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


 

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