Effect of Cliothosa aurivilli on Paclitaxel-induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Experimental Animals

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a serious complication leading to painful episodes of parasthesia and numbness in hands and feet. The present drugs that have been used for symptomatic treatment yield inconclusive results in trials and assorted side effects. Thus, there is a pressing demand for development of therapeutically efficacious strategy to combat CIPN. The present study investigates about the effect of a marine sponge; Cliothosa aurivilli (CA) on paclitaxel (PT)–induced peripheral neuropathy in mice. Peripheral neuropathy was induced by intoxication with chemotherapeutic drug PT (2 mg/kg; i.p.) for 5 days consequently. Subsequent treatment with aqueous extract of CA (100 and 200 mg/kg) and standard drug methylcobalamin (MCA) (5 mg/kg) was done and results compared statistically. Neuropathic pain sensations were assessed using various behavioural and locomotory models and evaluated on 0^th, 7^th and 14^th days. Kinovea software was used for video path-tracking of animals and total distance travelled calculated. The results indicated clear signs of improvement post 10 days of PT intoxication in CA-treated groups when compared PT challenged group. A significant reduction in pain behaviours in mechanical allodynia, cold chemical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia models, improvement in sensory motor coordination, locomotor activity, and distance travelled in closed field model reveals that CA possesses potential ameliorating effect against PT-induced neuropathic pain symptoms. The extract notably improved the movement of the PT challenged animals which was shown by the video path-tracking software and total distance travelled by those animals.