The Role of Saponins in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain caused by tissue injury or disease involving the somatosensory nervous system, which seriously affects the patient's body function and quality of life. At present, most clinical medications for the treatment of neuropathic pain, including antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs, or analgesics, often have limited efficacy and non-negligible side effects. As a bioactive and therapeutic component extracted from Chinese herbal medicine, the role of the effective compounds in the prevention and treatment of neuropathic pain have gradually become a research focus to explore new analgesics. Notably, saponins have shown analgesic effects in a large number of animal models. In this review, we summarized the most updated information of saponins, related to their analgesic effects in neuropathic pain, and the recent progress on the research of therapeutic targets and the potential mechanisms. Furthermore, we put up with some perspectives on future investigation to reveal the precise role of saponins in neuropathic pain.

Automated summary

Neuropathic pain is a chronic condition that affects the body function and quality of life of patients. Current clinical medications for the treatment of neuropathic pain often have limited efficacy and significant side effects. Saponins, as bioactive components extracted from Chinese herbal medicine, have shown analgesic effects in animal models. This review summarizes the latest information on the analgesic effects of saponins in neuropathic pain and explores the potential mechanisms of action.