Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Neuroprotective Effect of Silymarin by Modulation of Endogenous Biomarkers in Streptozotocin Induced Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Maher M Al-Enazi
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Salman Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj
Vice Rector of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Al Jouf University, KSA
British Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology 2013 3:110-120
Received: February 11, 2013 | Accepted: March 14, 2013 | Published: June 25, 2013
Abstract
Aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of silymarin (SM), a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound on experimentally-induced Diabetic Neuropathy (DN) in male Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced by single streptozotocin (STZ) injection in rats. Pain-related behavior tests were performed including tail flick, paw-pressure analgesia and Rota-rod performance. Silymarin treatment was started after 21st day of diabetes induction and continued for 6 consecutive weeks. In serum fasting glucose, insulin, tumor necrosis factor-&alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1&beta (IL-1&beta) levels were estimated and in sciatic nerve, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reduced glutathione (GSH), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-s-transferase (GST), glutathione-reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were measured. Diabetic rats developed neuropathy which was apparent from decreased tail-flick latency and paw-withdrawal latency.This was escorted by decreased motor coordination as assessed by performance on Rota-rod treadmill. Treatment with SM ameliorated the hyperalgesia, analgesia and improved motor coordination. STZ significantly increased TBARS and decreased GSH levels in sciatic nerve where silymarin treatment significantly protected those changes. Enzymatic activities such as SOD, CAT, GST, GSH-Px and GR were significantly inhibited in sciatic nerve of diabetic rats. The SM treatment significantly ameliorated decrease in antioxidant defense. Our results clearly demonstrate protective effect of SM is mediated through attenuation of oxidative stress and suggest therapeutic potential of SM in attenuation of diabetic neuropathy.
Keywords:
Cytokines, diabetes, neuropathy, oxidative stress, silymarin,
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
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ISSN (Online): 2044-2467
ISSN (Print): 2044-2459 |
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