ABSTRACT
Peripheral nervous injury (PNI) is a common form of trauma in modern society, especially in sport players. Despite the advance of therapy for PNI, the recovery of function can never reach the preinjury level after treatments. Recently, inhibiting neural oxidative stress shows a beneficial effect in improving functional recovery after PNI. In addition, sesame oil has been reported to possess the excellent antioxidative properties. However, whether sesame oil can improve the functional recovery after PNI by its antioxidative effect has never been investigated. Thirty mice were randomly divided into five groups of six: group I mice received sham operation; group II mice received sciatic nerve crush; and groups III-V mice daily ingested 0.5, 1 and 2 ml/kg of sesame oil for 6 days, respectively, after sciatic nerve crush. Oxidative stress, GAP43 and nuclear Nrf2 levels as well as spinal somatosensory evoked potentials were assessed on day 6, while paw withdrawal latency and sciatic function index were assessed on days 0, 3, and 6. Sesame oil significantly decreased lipid peroxidation and increased nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and GAP43 expression in sciatic nerve. Furthermore, sesame oil improved electrophysiological and functional assessments in mice with sciatic nerve crush. In conclusion, sesame oil may improve nerve functional recovery by attenuating nerve oxidative stress in mouse acute peripheral nerve injury. Further, application of natural product sesame oil may be an alternative approach for improving nerve functional recovery in the clinical setting.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/therapeutic use , Dietary Supplements , NF-E2-Related Factor 2/agonists , Oxidative Stress , Peripheral Nerve Injuries/diet therapy , Sciatic Nerve/injuries , Sesame Oil/therapeutic use , Active Transport, Cell Nucleus , Animals , Antioxidants/administration & dosage , Biomarkers/blood , Biomarkers/metabolism , Crush Injuries/diet therapy , Crush Injuries/metabolism , Crush Injuries/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory , GAP-43 Protein/agonists , GAP-43 Protein/metabolism , Lipid Peroxidation , Male , Mice, Inbred C57BL , NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism , Nerve Tissue Proteins/agonists , Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism , Pain Measurement , Peripheral Nerve Injuries/blood , Peripheral Nerve Injuries/metabolism , Peripheral Nerve Injuries/physiopathology , Random Allocation , Sciatic Nerve/metabolism , Sciatic Nerve/physiopathology , Sesame Oil/administration & dosage , Specific Pathogen-Free OrganismsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat-content diet with insufficiency of carbohydrates that induces ketogenesis. Besides its anticonvulsant properties, many studies have shown its neuroprotective effect in central nervous system, but its influence on peripheral nervous system has not been studied yet. We examined the influence of KD on regeneration of peripheral nerves in adult rats. METHODS: Fifty one rats were divided into three experimental (n = 15) and one control (n = 6) groups. Right sciatic nerve was crushed and animals were kept on standard (ST group) or ketogenic diet, the latter was introduced 3 weeks before (KDB group) or on the day of surgery (KDA group). Functional (CatWalk) tests were performed once a week, and morphometric (fiber density, axon diameter, and myelin thickness) analysis of the nerves was made after 6 weeks. Body weight and blood ketone bodies level were estimated at the beginning and the end of experiment. RESULTS: Functional analysis showed no differences between groups. Morphometric evaluation showed most similarities to the healthy (uncrushed) nerves in KDB group. Nerves in ST group differed mostly from all other groups. Ketone bodies were elevated in both KD groups, while post-surgery animals' body weight was lower as compared to ST group. DISCUSSION: Regeneration of sciatic nerves was improved in KD - preconditioned rats. These results suggest a neuroprotective effect of KD on peripheral nerves.
