Attenuation of neuropathic pain by saikosaponin a in a rat model of chronic constriction injury.

Despite immense advances in the treatment strategies, the effective treatment of patients suffering from neuropathic pain remains challenging. Saikosaponin a possesses anti-inflammatory activity. However, the role of saikosaponin a in neuropathic pain is still unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of saikosaponin a on neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain was induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in rats. After CCI, rats were administered saikosaponin a (6.25, 12.50 and 25.00 mg/kg intraperitoneal, once daily) for 14 days. Mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency were assessed before surgery and on days 1, 3, 7, and 14 after CCI. Our results showed that CCI significantly decreased mechanical withdrawal threshold and thermal withdrawal latency on days 1, 3, 7 and 14, as compared with sham groups, however, saikosaponin a reversed this effects. In addition, saikosaponin a inhibited CCI-induced the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2 in spinal cord. Western blot analysis demonstrated that saikosaponin a reduced the elevated expression of p-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF-κB in the spinal cord induced by CCI. These results suggest that saikosaponin a could effectively attenuate neuropathic pain in CCI rats by inhibiting the activation of p38 MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways in spinal cord.