Table 3.
Effects of curcumin on sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI).
| Animals (Sex, Strain) | Dose (mg/kg), Route of Administration, Duration of Treatment | Effects | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Evaluation/Other Diabetic | Histopathological/ Biochemical/Molecular |
|||
| Male Sprague-Dawley rats | CCI + curcumin (100 mg/kg, peritoneal, 14 days) | ✓ Mechanical allodynia (von Frey) and thermal hyperalgesia (Hargreaves test) | X Immunohistochemical and protein expressions of NMDAR-NR1 in spinal cord and DRG | [133] |
| Male Sprague-Dawley rats | CCI + curcumin (100 mg/kg, i.p., 14 days) | ↑ Thermal withdrawal latency (heat stimulus) 7 days after surgery and mechanical withdrawal threshold (von Frey) 10 days after surgery | ↓ NF-κB p65 protein expression in lumbar spinal cord and DRG 7 days after surgery ↓ CX3CR1 positive expression in spinal dorsal horn and DRG 7 days after surgery |
[131] |
| Male Sprague-Dawley rats | CCI + curcumin (100 mg/kg, peritoneal, 14 days) | ✓ Thermal hyperalgesia (Hargreaves test) and paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (von Frey) on day 14 | ↓ Serum cortisol concentration X Upregulated expression of 11βHSD1 in spinal dorsal horn and DRG |
[132] |
| Male Wistar rats | CCI + curcumin (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg, i.p., 7 days) |
O Mechanical allodynia (von Frey) High dose ↓ Cold allodynia (acetone test) |
High dose ↓ Serum concentration of cyclooxygenase 2 | [137] |
| Male Sprague-Dawley rats | CCI + curcumin (20, 40, or 60 mg/kg, i.p., 14 days) | ↓ Thermal hyperalgesia (Hargreaves test) and mechanical allodynia (von Frey) | ↓ Recruitment of p300/CBP and acetyl-histone H3/acetyl-histone H4 to the promoter of BDNF and Cox-2 genes ↓ mRNA and protein expressions of BDNF and Cox-2 in spinal cord |
[135] |
| Male Sprague-Dawley rats | CCI + curcumin (50 mg/kg, oral, 7 days) | ↓ Mechanical allodynia (von Frey) | O Protein expressions of p-ERK, p-JNK, and p-NR1 in DRG | [136] |
| Male C57BL/6J mice | CCI + curcumin (5, 15 or 45 mg/kg, oral, twice per day for 3 weeks) | Chronic treatment ↓Thermal hyperalgesia (hotplate) and mechanical allodynia (von Frey) Depletion of descending noradrenaline (NA) by 6-OHDA X Mechanical allodynia, but not thermal hyperalgesia Depletion of 5-HT by PCPA X thermal hyperalgesia but not mechanical allodynia Antagonists β-AR (propranolol) but not α-AR (phentolamine) X Mechanical allodynia β2-AR (ICI 118,551) X Mechanical allodynia 5-HT1A (WAY-100635) X Thermal hyperalgesia Antagonists Delta-opioid (naltrindole hydrochloride) ↓ Mechanical allodynia Mu-opioid (β-funaltrexamine) X Thermal hyperalgesia Kappa-opioid (nor-binaltorphimine) O Mechanical allodynia or thermal hyperalgesia |
Chronic treatment increased spinal monoamine serotonin and its metabolite MHPG Did not alter other monoamines/ metabolites (NA, 5-HIAA, dopamine and DOPAC) |
[134] |
| Combination Study | ||||
| Male Sprague-Dawley rats | CCI + curcumin (100 mg/kg, oral, 14 days) CCI + tramadol (10 mg/kg, i.p., 14 days) CCI + chronic constriction release (CCR) + curcumin (100 mg/kg, oral, 14 days) CCI + CCR + tramadol (10 mg/kg, i.p., 14 days) CCI + curcumin (100 mg/kg, oral, 14 days) + tramadol (10 mg/kg, i.p., 14 days) |
CCI + tramadol, and CCI + CCR + tramadol ↑ Thermal hyperalgesia (heat stimulus) CCI + tramadol, and CCI + CCR + tramadol ↑ Mechanical allodynia (dynamic plantar test) O Cold-induced pain (cold plate test) |
↓ Sciatic and DRG TNF-α in CCI + CCR + tramadol ↑ Sciatic IL-10 in CCI + CCR + tramadol, whereas ↑ DRG IL-10 in CCI + tramadol followed by CCI + CCR + tramadol ↑ Number of regenerated axons in CCI + CCR + curcumin and CCI + CCR + tramadol |
[144] |
Behavioral modalities are mentioned within parentheses. ✓ = improve; ✓ = improve; ↓ = decrease/reduce; O = no effects; X = abolish/abrogate/block; BDNF = brain-derived neurotrophic factor; 11βHSD1 = 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type I enzyme; CBP = CREB-binding protein; CCI = chronic constriction injury; CCR = chronic constriction release; Cox-2 = cyclooxygenase-2; CX3CR1 = CX3C chemokine receptor 1; DRG = dorsal root ganglion; i.p. = intraperitoneal; mRNA = messenger RNA; NF-κB = nuclear factor kappa B; NMDAR NR1 = N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunit NR1; TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor alpha.