The Effect of Oral Administration of Withania Somnifera Root on Formalin-Induced Pain in Diabetic Rats

Introduction: hyperalgesia is considered as one the marked signs of subchronic diabetes mellitus that could affect the life style of the patients. with considering the potential anti-diabetic effect of the medicinal plant withania somnifera (ws)(ashwagandha), this study was designed to investigate the analgesic effect of ws on formalin-induced nociceptive responses (standard formalin test) in diabetic rats. methods: rats were divided into control, ws-treated control, diabetic, sodium salicylate (ss)-treated control and diabetic and ws-treated diabetic groups. for induction of diabetes, streptozotocin (stz) was used at a single dose. the treatment groups received oral administration of ashwagandha -mixed rat pellet (6025%) for two months; results: the results showed that diabetic rats exhibited a higher score of pain at both phases of the formalin test and ws-treated diabetic rats exhibited a lower nociceptive score at both phases of the test (p<0.05). meanwhile, ss administration significantly reduced pain score only at chronic phase of the test in the diabetic group (p<0.01). discussion: taken together, these results indicate that two-month administration of ashwagandha could attenuate nociceptive score in an experimental model of diabetes mellitus and this may be considered as a potential treatment for painful diabetic neuropathy.