Red Clover Trifolium pratense (Linn.) Isoflavones Extract on the Pain Threshold of Normal and Ovariectomized Rats - A Longterm Study

Depletion of estrogens occurs in women during menopause, while in experimental animals, oophorectomy is a common method to deplete the animals of their gonadal hormones. Recently, phytoestrogens derived from plants have been tried as estrogen substitutes during menopause. In the present study an isoflavones methanol extract from red clover Trifolium pratense (Linn.) was administered orally (500 mg/kg of body weight) to ovariectomized (OVX) and normal (controls) rats for 90 and 180 days. Their pain threshold was monitored using tail flicking and formalin test methods. Observations showed that the OVX rat pain threshold was reduced due to estrogen deprivation, whereas the pain threshold levels in OVX rats treated with isoflavones extract was similar to the control animals. The present study demonstrated the influence of phytoestrogen on long-term OVX rats in pain perception in the absence of ovarian estrogen and without toxic side effects. However, the actions of gonadal hormones on nociceptive axis are myriad and complex, so further studies on the exact physiological mechanism of the phytoestrogen action on nociceptive axis is warranted. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.