Research Article Antihypernociceptive and Neuroprotective Effects of the Aqueous and Methanol Stem-Bark Extracts of Nauclea pobeguinii (Rubiaceae) on STZ-Induced Diabetic Neuropathic Pain Eric Gonzal Tsafack, 1 Marius Mbiantcha , 1 Gilbert Ateufack , 1 StephanieFloreDjuichouNguemnang, 1 WilliamNanaYousseu, 1 AlbertDonatienAtsamo, 2 Vanessa Matah Marthe Mba, 1 Carine Flore Adjouzem, 1 and Egbe Ben Besong 3 1 Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Phytopharmacology, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon 2 Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon 3 Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, Cameroon CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoMariusMbiantcha;mbiantchamarius@yahoo.frandGilbertAteufack;ateufack2000@ yahoo.fr Received 26 October 2020; Revised 18 January 2021; Accepted 20 January 2021; Published 2 February 2021 AcademicEditor:MuhammadNabeelGhayur Copyright©2021EricGonzalTsafacketal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. egreatestcommonanddevastatingcomplicationofdiabetesispainfulneuropathythatcancausehyperalgesiaandallodynia.It can disturb psychosocial functioning by increasing levels of anxiety and depression. is work was designed to evaluate the antihyperalgesic,antidepressant,andanxiolytic-likeeffectsoftheaqueousandmethanolextractsof Nauclea pobeguinii stem-bark in diabetic neuropathy induced by streptozotocin in mice. Diabetic neuropathy was induced in mice by the intraperitoneal administrationof200mg/kgstreptozotocin(STZ)toprovokehyperglycemia. Nauclea pobeguinii aqueousandmethanolextracts atthedosesof150and300mg/kgwereadministeredbyoralroute,andtheireffectswereevaluatedonantihyperalgesicactivity (Von Frey filaments, hot plate, acetone, and formalin tests), blood glucose levels, body weight, serum, sciatic nerve proin- flammatorycytokines(TNF-α,IL-1β,andIL-6)andsciaticnervegrowthfactor(IGFandNGF)rates,depression(openfieldtest, forced swimming test, tail suspension test), and anxiety (elevated plus maze, light-dark box test, social interaction). Oral ad- ministration of Nauclea pobeguinii stem-bark aqueous and methanol extracts (150 and 300mg/kg) produced antihyperalgesic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic-like effects in STZ-induced diabetic neuropathic mice. Extracts also triggered a decrease in glycaemiaandincreasedbodyweightintreatedanimals.eyalsosignificantly(p <0.001)reducedtumournecrosisfactoralpha (TNF-α),interleukin-1beta(IL-1β),andIL-6andsignificantly(p <0.001)increasednervegrowthfactor(NGF)andinsulin-like growthfactor(IGF)insciaticnerves.eresultsofthisstudyconfirmedthat Nauclea pobeguinii aqueousandmethanolextracts possess antihyperalgesic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic activities and could be beneficial therapeutic agents. 1. Introduction Diabetesthataffectsabout415millionofadultsintheworldisa main public health problem that is related to development of pain complications in many tissues of the body, and approx- imately16to26%ofdiabeticpatientshavechronicpain[1].e greatest common complication among diabetic patients is di- abeticneuropathy(DN),butitspathophysiologicalmechanism is difficult and yet unknown [2]. Diabetic neuropathy is characterized by progressive peripheral neuropathy and causes chronicneuropathicpainandsensoryormotordamageinthe limits [3]. e mechanism by which hyperglycemia causes painfuldiabeticneuropathyisstillunknown,butelevatedblood glucoseisattheoriginofanincreaseinadvancedglycationend products, protein kinase C isoform activation, mitochondrial dysfunction,andactivationofnuclearfactor-κB(NF-κB)[4,5] Hindawi Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2021, Article ID 6637584, 17 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6637584