Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief

Neuropathic pain (NPP) is a prevalent chronic condition characterized by spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia, allodynia, and sensory abnormalities, severely impacting patients' quality of life. Despite various guided treatments, their clinical efficacy remains limited, often accompanied by adverse r...

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Main Authors: Hui-Si Yang, David H. Mauki, Yue-Xiang Zheng, Ting-Hua Wang, Xiu-Ying He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Pharmacological Research
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661825002142
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author Hui-Si Yang
David H. Mauki
Yue-Xiang Zheng
Ting-Hua Wang
Xiu-Ying He
author_facet Hui-Si Yang
David H. Mauki
Yue-Xiang Zheng
Ting-Hua Wang
Xiu-Ying He
author_sort Hui-Si Yang
collection DOAJ
description Neuropathic pain (NPP) is a prevalent chronic condition characterized by spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia, allodynia, and sensory abnormalities, severely impacting patients' quality of life. Despite various guided treatments, their clinical efficacy remains limited, often accompanied by adverse reactions. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers unique advantages in disease treatment through its holistic approach (balancing the body as a unified system) and syndrome differentiation principle (personalized medicine). Recent research has highlighted terpenoids for their analgesic effects and minimal side effects. This review summarizes the role of terpenoids in NPP and their underlying molecular mechanisms. Terpenoids, natural products found in plants, are categorized into monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, and tetraterpenoids based on isoprene units. These compounds alleviate NPP by: inhibiting neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, regulating mitochondrial function, modulating ion channels, and influencing the cannabinoid and opioid receptor systems. This review aims to deepen our understanding of terpenoids and provide crucial evidence and mechanistic insights for their application in NPP therapy.
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issn 1096-1186
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
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series Pharmacological Research
spelling doaj-art-a5ed675bf48e4beab5dc8f43df5492dd2025-08-20T02:32:20ZengElsevierPharmacological Research1096-11862025-06-0121610778910.1016/j.phrs.2025.107789Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain reliefHui-Si Yang0David H. Mauki1Yue-Xiang Zheng2Ting-Hua Wang3Xiu-Ying He4Department of Anesthesiology, Institute of Neurological Disease, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Department of Neurology and National Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Research Base, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaDepartment of Anesthesiology, Institute of Neurological Disease, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaDepartment of Neurology and National Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Research Base, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaDepartment of Anesthesiology, Institute of Neurological Disease, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Department of Neurology and National Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Research Base, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China; Correspondence to: Department of Anesthesiology, Institute of Neurological Disease, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.Department of Anesthesiology, Institute of Neurological Disease, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Department of Neurology and National Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinical Research Base, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China; Correspondence to: Department of Anesthesiology, Institute of Neurological Disease, Translational Neuroscience Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.Neuropathic pain (NPP) is a prevalent chronic condition characterized by spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia, allodynia, and sensory abnormalities, severely impacting patients' quality of life. Despite various guided treatments, their clinical efficacy remains limited, often accompanied by adverse reactions. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers unique advantages in disease treatment through its holistic approach (balancing the body as a unified system) and syndrome differentiation principle (personalized medicine). Recent research has highlighted terpenoids for their analgesic effects and minimal side effects. This review summarizes the role of terpenoids in NPP and their underlying molecular mechanisms. Terpenoids, natural products found in plants, are categorized into monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, and tetraterpenoids based on isoprene units. These compounds alleviate NPP by: inhibiting neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, regulating mitochondrial function, modulating ion channels, and influencing the cannabinoid and opioid receptor systems. This review aims to deepen our understanding of terpenoids and provide crucial evidence and mechanistic insights for their application in NPP therapy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661825002142TerpenoidsTraditional Chinese MedicineNeuropathic painAnalgesic
spellingShingle Hui-Si Yang
David H. Mauki
Yue-Xiang Zheng
Ting-Hua Wang
Xiu-Ying He
Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
Pharmacological Research
Terpenoids
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Neuropathic pain
Analgesic
title Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
title_full Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
title_fullStr Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
title_full_unstemmed Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
title_short Terpenoids: A promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
title_sort terpenoids a promising traditional chinese medicine for neuropathic pain relief
topic Terpenoids
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Neuropathic pain
Analgesic
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661825002142
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