Novel Approach to the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain Using a Combination with Palmitoylethanolamide and Equisetum arvense L. in an In Vitro Study

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 6; p. 5503
• Main Authors: Ruga, Sara, Galla, Rebecca, Ferrari, Sara, Invernizzi, Marco, Uberti, Francesca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Bioavailability; Biological effects; Cell injury; Chronic illnesses; Chronic pain; Cytotoxicity; Enzymes; Equisetum; Equisetum arvense; Equisetum arvense L; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Humans; Injuries; intestinal adsorption; Intestine; Intolerance; Nervous system; Neuralgia - drug therapy; Neuraxis; neuropathic pain; Oxidative stress; Pain; Pain management; Palmitoylethanolamide; Peripheral nerves; peripheral neuraxis damage; Peripheral neuropathy; Quality of Life; Schwann cells; Tissue Distribution; Equisetum arvense L; peripheral neuraxis damage; neuropathic pain; palmitoylethanolamide; intestinal adsorption; Schwann cells
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065503

Neuropathic pain is a typical patient disorder resulting from damage and dysfunction of the peripheral neuraxis. Injury to peripheral nerves in the upper extremities can result in a lifelong reduction in quality of life and a devastating loss of sensory and motor function. Since some standard pharmaceutical therapies can cause dependence or intolerance, nonpharmacological treatments have gained great interest in recent years. In this context, the beneficial effects of a new combination of palmitoylethanolamide and L. are evaluated in the present study. The bioavailability of the combination was initially analyzed in a 3D intestinal barrier simulating oral intake to analyze its absorption/biodistribution and exclude cytotoxicity. In a further step, a 3D nerve tissue model was performed to study the biological effects of the combination during the key mechanisms leading to peripheral neuropathy. Our results demonstrate that the combination successfully crossed the intestinal barrier and reached the target site, modulating the nerve recovery mechanism after Schwann cell injury and offering the initial response of relieving pain. This work supported the efficacy of palmitoylethanolamide and L. in reducing neuropathy and modifying the major pain mechanisms, outlining a possible alternative nutraceutical approach.