Antioxidants produced by the body neutralize harmful free radicals (toxic byproducts of metabolic functions) and protect against oxidative damage. Antioxidants help prevent premature aging, degenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Free radical cell damage is believed to be a factor in chronic pain. Now research reports that antioxidants helped relieve pain and eliminate symptoms in mice.
The study, published in Behavioral Brain Research, investigated the effects of three antioxidants on injured mice. Researchers at Ohio State University injected either the synthetic antioxidant PBN, the synthetic antioxidant TEMPOL, NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine), or saline (placebo) in mice. The mice were then injected with an irritant that causes inflammation and pain in their left hind paw. The researchers measured the mice's pain behavior such as licking or biting the affected paw. The behavior was quantified during a 30 minute period including an acute phase (initial pain reaction) and a tonic phase (15 to 30 minute pain-like behavior).
The researchers found that the three antioxidants relieved pain in 70 to 90 percent of the mice during the acute phase. Furthermore, the three antioxidants relieved pain in 78 to 98 percent of the mice during the tonic phase. The study authors suggest that antioxidants may also be effective pain-killers for humans.
"The data suggest that pro-oxidant species may be important mediators of tissue injury-induced analgesia in rodents, and that a spinal site of action is implicated in the tonic response," conclude the study authors.
REFERENCES:
1. Hacimuftuoglu A et al. Antioxidants attenuate multiple phases of formalin-induced nociceptive response in mice. Behav Brain Res 2006 Oct 16;173(2):211-6. Epub 2006 Aug 17
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on December 26, 2006 03:55 PM
