Curcumin ameliorated diabetic neuropathy partially by inhibition of NADPH oxidase mediating oxidative stress in the spinal cord

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases are the main enzymes that produce oxidative stress, which plays an important role in painful diabetic neuropathy. Curcumin has been reported to exert an antinociceptive effect in a rat model of diabetic neuropathy by suppressing oxidative stress in the spinal cord. However, it remains unknown whether the mechanism by which curcumin ameliorates diabetic neuropathy can be attributed to spinal NADPH oxidases. This study was designed to determine the effect of curcumin on diabetic neuropathy and to investigate its precise mechanism in relation to NADPH oxidase-mediating oxidative stress in the spinal cord. Diabetic neuropathy was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by intraperitoneal injection with 1% streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg). After the onset of diabetic neuropathy, a subset of the diabetic rats received daily intragastric administrations of curcumin (200 mg/kg) or intraperitoneal injections of apocynin (2.5 mg/kg) for 14 consecutive days, whereas other diabetic rats received equivalent volumes of normal saline (NS). STZ resulted in diabetic neuropathy with hyperglycemia and a lower paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), accompanied by elevations in the expression of the NADPH oxidase subunits p47phox and gp91phox and in the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and a reduction in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (P < 0.05) in the spinal cord. Both curcumin and apocynin ameliorated diabetic neuropathy. In conclusion, curcumin attenuated neuropathic pain in diabetic rats, at least partly by inhibiting NADPH oxidase-mediating oxidative stress in the spinal cord.