A bacosides containing Bacopa monnieri extract alleviates allodynia and hyperalgesia in the chronic constriction injury model of neuropathic pain in rats

BACKGROUND: The current therapy of neuropathic pain is inadequate and is limited by the extent of pain relief and the occurrence of dose dependant side effects. Insufficient control of pain with conventional medications prompts the use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies by patients with neuropathic pain. This study therefore investigated a standardized methanolic extract of Bacopa monnieri, a widely reputed nootropic plant, for prospective antinociceptive effect in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain. METHODS: Placement of four loose ligatures around the sciatic nerve produced partial denervation of the hindpaw in rats. Bacopa monnieri (40 and 80 mg/kg, p.o) and the positive control, gabapentin (75 mg/kg, i.p), were administered daily after CCI or sham surgery and the behavioral paradigms of static- and dynamic-allodynia (paw withdrawal threshold to von Frey filament stimulation [PWT] and paw withdrawal latency to light-brushing [PWL]), cold-allodynia (paw withdrawal duration [PWD] to acetone), heat- (PWL to heat-stimulus) and punctate-hyperalgesia (PWD to pin-prick) were assessed on days 3, 7, 14 and 21. RESULTS: CCI consistently generated static- (days 3–21), dynamic- (days 14–21) and cold-allodynia (days 3–21) plus heat- and mechano-hyperalgesia (days 3–21). The tested doses of Bacopa monnieri significantly attenuated the CCI-induced allodynia and hyperalgesia, exemplified by increased PWT (days 7–21), PWL to light brushing (days 14–21) and heat (days 7–21) as well as decreased PWD to pin prick and cold stimuli (days 3–21). The extract also counterbalanced the CCI-induced aberrations in the nociceptive behaviors by increasing the pain threshold to that of pre-surgery baseline. Gabapentin also afforded analogous beneficial behavioral profile but of higher magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that Bacopa monnieri can be used as adjuvant therapy for neuropathic pain conditions afflicted with allodynia and hyperalgesia. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1807-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.