Evidence for Positive Effects of Date Extract That Attenuates Thermal Hyperalgesia in a Diabetic Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain

Aim: Diabetic neuropathic pain is one of the pains which hardly respond to pharmaceutical treat. Today, various chemical and herbal compounds have been used to reduce pain. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of date extract and melatonin in preventing pain in diabetic rats. Method: To study hyperalgesia response and to compare the effect of date extract and melatonin in preventing pain, hot plate and tail flick tests were used. After prescribing single dose of streptozotocin to rats and approving their diabetes, treatment rats received date extract (4 ml/kg/day) or melatonin [10 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally (i.p.)] for a period of 6 weeks. At the end of the sixth week, control and treated rats were examined by thermal pain response and explorative activity tests. Results: According to hot plate results, response time to thermal pain in treated group showed a significant decrease in comparison with the control group (P < 0.01). Prescription of date extract increased response time to thermal pain in comparison with treated group (P < 0.01), so that response time approximated to control group. Although melatonin approximated to the response time to control group, the significant difference was not observed among melatonin receivers and other groups. In the assessment of diabetic neuropathy on the explorative activity of rats in an open field behavioral test, total distance moved and rearing frequency were significantly decreased, while administration of date extract did also improve motor deficits induced by STZ. Conclusions: Findings of this study showed that date extract decreased thermal hyperalgesia and can prevent pain resulted from diabetic neuropathy.