Analgesic Effect of Combined Therapy with the Japanese Herbal Medicine “Yokukansan” and Electroacupuncture in Rats with Acute Inflammatory Pain

Background: Japanese herbal medicine, called Kampo medicine, and acupuncture are mainly used in Japanese traditional medicine. In this experiment, the analgesic effect of Yokukansan (YKS) alone and a combination of YKS and electroacupuncture (EA) on inflammatory pain induced by formalin injection we...

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Published inMedicines (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 8; no. 6; p. 31
Main Authors Ebihara, Nachi, Ikemoto, Hideshi, Adachi, Naoki, Okumo, Takayuki, Kimura, Taro, Yusa, Kanako, Hattori, Satoshi, Manabe, Atsufumi, Hisamitsu, Tadashi, Sunagawa, Masataka
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 17.06.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Acupuncture
Analgesics
Animals
Electroacupuncture
formalin
Herbal medicine
Kampo medicine
Kinases
Medicine
Pain
phosphorylated ERK
Spinal cord
United States > US
Japan
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Summary:Background: Japanese herbal medicine, called Kampo medicine, and acupuncture are mainly used in Japanese traditional medicine. In this experiment, the analgesic effect of Yokukansan (YKS) alone and a combination of YKS and electroacupuncture (EA) on inflammatory pain induced by formalin injection were examined. Methods: Animals were divided into four groups: a control group, formalin injection group (formalin), YKS-treated formalin group (YKS), and YKS- and EA-treated formalin group (YKS + EA). The duration of pain-related behaviors and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) activation in the spinal cord after formalin injection in the right hind paw were determined. Results: The duration of pain-related behaviors was dramatically prolonged in the late phase (10–60 min) in the formalin group. The YKS treatment tended to reduce (p = 0.08), whereas YKS + EA significantly suppressed the pain-related behaviors (p < 0.01). Immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses revealed that the number of phosphorylated ERK1/2 (pERK1/2)-positive cells and the pERK expression level, which were increased by formalin injection, were significantly inhibited by YKS (p < 0.05) and YKS + EA (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The YKS + EA combination therapy elicited an analgesic effect on formalin-induced acute inflammatory pain.
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ISSN:2305-6320
2305-6320
DOI:10.3390/medicines8060031