title: Therapeutic effects of thymoquinone in a model of neuropathic pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of our study was to determine the therapeutic effects of thymoquinone in a dose-dependent manner in a model of neuropathic pain following an experimentally applied spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty female adult Wistar albino rats weighing between 220 and 260 g were included in the study and were divided into 5 groups as follows: Group S (sham), Group C (control), Group T100 (100 mg/kg thymoquinone), Group T200 (200 mg/kg thymoquinone), and Group T400 (400 mg/kg thymoquinone). To begin the experiment, SCI was applied to all groups (with the exception of the sham group) following a mechanical and heat-cold test. Two weeks later, the mechanical and heat-cold tests were repeated, and a single normal saline dose was given to the sham and control groups, whereas 3 varying doses of thymoquinone were given to the other groups. The mechanical and heat-cold tests were repeated at 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after receiving thymoquinone. Finally, the animals were put to death via the removal of intracardiac blood. The levels of nitric oxide, total oxidant status, total antioxidant status, paraoxonase, malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β were determined in all of the blood samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The withdrawal threshold and withdrawal latency values recorded from the mechanical and heat-cold allodynia measurements for all 3 thymoquinone groups were higher than that of the control group at all time points (ie, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes). There were no differences in these results between the 3 thymoquinone groups. The paraoxonase and total antioxidant status serum levels of all 3 thymoquinone groups were higher than those of the control group, whereas total oxidant status, nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, interleuken-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were lower in the 3 thymoquinone groups than in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thymoquinone is beneficial for decreasing experimental neuropathic pain following SCI. However, increasing the dose does not change the effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Feyzi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cüneyt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Göçmez
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Haktan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karaman
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kağan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamaşak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Eşref
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akıl
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tufek
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdulmenap
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guzel
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ertuğrul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uzar
keywords: heat-cold allodynia; mechanical allodynia; neuropathic pain; thymoquinone