Chronic Oral Pelargonidin Alleviates Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Neuropathic Hyperalgesia in Rat: Involvement of Oxidative Stress

Background: Diabetes mellitus in some clinical cases is accompanied with hyperalgesia. In this study, we evaluated the possible beneficial effect of chronic pelargonidin (PG) treatment on hyperalgesia in streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic neuropathic rat. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n = 56) were divided into seven groups, i.e. control, diabetic, PG-treated control, PG (single- and multiple-dose)-treated diabetic, and sodium salicylate-treated control and diabetics. For induction of diabetes, STZ was injected i.p. at a single dose of 60 mg/kg. PG was orally administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg once and/or on alternate days for 8 weeks 1 week after diabetes induction. After two months, hyperalgesia was assessed using standard formalin and hot tail immersion tests. Meanwhile, markers of oxidative stress in brain were measured. One-way analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis of the data. Results: Diabetic rats showed a marked chemical and thermal hyperalgesia, indicating that development of diabetic neuropathy and PG treatment (especially multiple-doses) significantly ameliorated the alteration in hyperalgesia (P<0.05-0.01) in diabetic rats as compared to untreated diabetics. PG (multiple doses) also significantly decreased diabetes-induced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances formation and non-significantly reversed elevation of nitrite level and reduction of antioxidant defensive enzyme superoxide dismutase. Conclusion: These results clearly suggest that PG prevents diabetic neuropathic hyperalgesia through attenuation of oxidative stress.