Yokukansan Alleviates Cancer Pain by Suppressing Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in a Mouse Bone Metastasis Model.

In this study, we investigated the effect of yokukansan (YKS), one of the traditional Japanese herbal medicines, on cancer pain in mouse bone metastasis model. Oral administration of YKS significantly alleviated pain behavior measured by quantitative body weight bearing. Furthermore, the pain behavior was also significantly alleviated by intrathecal and intraperitoneal administration of matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 9 inhibitor, but not of MMP-2 inhibitor. MMP-9 expression was significantly elevated in the bone tissue on day 3 after carcinoma cell injection and in the ipsilateral spinal cord on day 7, which was suppressed by YKS administration. Taken together, these results suggest that YKS alleviates cancer pain via suppressing MMP-9 expression in bone metastasis model in mice. PMID: 31239855 [PubMed]
Source: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Tags: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Source Type: research