Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36601662›Full record

ArticleCNS neuroscience & therapeutics2023

Ferulic acid alleviates sciatica by inhibiting neuroinflammation and promoting nerve repair via the TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Di Zhang, Bei Jing, Zhen-Ni Chen, Xin Li, Hui-Mei Shi, Ya-Chun Zheng, Shi-Quan Chang, Li Gao, Guo-Ping Zhao

Open access · goldFull text read
In one paragraph

Article in CNS neuroscience & therapeutics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
68citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
12.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

68 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 99 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Asiatic Acid AttenuatesInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Di ZhangCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0001-9134-6573
Bei JingCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhen-Ni ChenCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Xin LiCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0003-1594-2378
Hui-Mei ShiCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Ya-Chun ZhengCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Shi-Quan ChangCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Li GaoCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Guo-Ping ZhaoCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Jinan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSciatica causes intense pain. No satisfactory therapeutic drugs exist to treat sciatica. This study aimed to probe the potential mechanism of ferulic acid in sciatica treatment.

methodsThirty-two SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham operation, chronic constriction injury (CCI), mecobalamin, and ferulic acid. We conducted RNA sequencing, behavioral tests, ELISA, PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence analysis. TAK-242 and JSH23 were administered to RSC96 and GMI-R1 cells to explore whether ferulic acid can inhibit apoptosis and alleviate inflammation.

resultsRNA sequencing showed that TLR4/NF-κB pathway is involved in the mechanism of sciatica. CCI induced cold and mechanical hyperalgesia; destroyed the sciatic nerve structure; increased IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, and TGF-β protein levels and IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, TGF-β, TLR4, and IBA-1 mRNA levels; and decreased IL-10 and INF-γ protein levels and IL-4 mRNA levels. Immunohistochemistry showed that IBA-1, CD32, IL-1β, iNOS, nNOS, COX2, and TLR4 expression was increased while S100β and Arg-1 decreased. CCI increased TLR4, IBA-1, IL-1β, iNOS, Myd88, p-NF-κB, and p-p38MAPK protein levels. Treatment with mecobalamin and ferulic acid reversed these trends. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced RSC96 cell apoptosis by reducing Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl protein and mRNA levels and increasing Bax and Bad mRNA and IL-1β, TLR4, Myd88, p-NF-κB, and p-p38MAPK protein levels, while ferulic acid inhibited cell apoptosis by decreasing IL-1β, TLR4, Myd88, p-NF-κB, and p-p38MAPK levels and increasing Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl levels. In GMI-R1 cells, Ferulic acid attenuated LPS-induced M1 polarization by decreasing the M1 polarization markers IL-1β, IL-6, iNOS, and CD32 and increasing the M2 polarization markers CD206, IL-4, IL-10 and Arg-1. After LPS treatment, IL-1β, iNOS, TLR4, Myd88, p-p38MAPK, and p-NF-κB levels were obviously increased, and Arg-1 expression was reduced, while ferulic acid reversed these changes.

conclusionFerulic acid can promote injured sciatic nerve repair by reducing neuronal cell apoptosis and inflammatory infiltration though the TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Indexed as

Coumaric AcidsNF-kappa BSciaticaToll-Like Receptor 4AnimalsInterleukin-10Interleukin-4Interleukin-6LipopolysaccharidesMyeloid Differentiation Factor 88Neuroinflammatory DiseasesRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyRNA, MessengerSignal TransductionTransforming Growth Factor betaCoumaric Acidsferulic acidInterleukin-10Interleukin-4Interleukin-6LipopolysaccharidesMyeloid Differentiation Factor 88NF-kappa BRNA, MessengerTlr4 protein, ratToll-Like Receptor 4Transforming Growth Factor betaTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaCCIferulic acidGMI-R1inflammationNF-κBpainRSC96sciaticaTLR4

Identifiers

PMID36601662
PMCPMC10018085
OpenAlexW4313544711

What Socratic holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read40
table measurements read14
reference markers read2
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.