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EFFECTS OF CHUANXIONG RHIZOMA-CYPERI RHIZOMA COMBINATION ON MIGRAINE IN A MURINE MODEL

PING NIU ¹, TIANYE LAN ¹, JINJIAN LI ¹, YUE WANG ^1*

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Chuanxiong Rhizoma-Cyperi Rhizoma combination is a traditional anti-migraine treatment used for years in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and the underlying mechanism of using this combination in a murine model of migraine. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, a normal group, a migraine model group, a Flunarizine group used as a positive therapeutic effect group and high, medium, and low dose Chuanxiong Rhizoma-Cyperi Rhizoma combination groups. Seven days before migraine induction, the animals from the Flunarizine group received 0.43 mg/kg bw/day flunarizine, the animals from Chuanxiong Rhizoma-Cyperi Rhizoma combination groups received 6, 3 and 1.5 g/kg bw/day of alcoholic extract powder, while the normal group and the model group received the same amount of saline solution. After the model induction, the behavioural signs of migraine, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels both in serum and brain tissue, nitric oxide (NO) levels, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and nitric oxide/endothelin (NO/ET) ratio in serum significantly increased compared with the normal group, while the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), β-Endorphin (β-EP) both in serum and brain tissue and ET in serum significantly decreased. The pre-treatment with Flunarizine and increasing doses of Chuanxiong Rhizoma-Cyperi Rhizoma combination groups significantly reversed. The effect on increasing the 5-HT levels and decreasing IL-1β, TNF-α n, NOS and NO levels was superior for the high dose group compared with the Flunarizine group. In conclusion, Chuanxiong Rhizoma-Cyperi Rhizoma combination showed beneficial effects in a migraine murine model by modulating the neurogenic inflammation and the levels of neurotransmitter and vasomotor factors.