Objective. The present investigation examined the neuroprotective effect of Agaricus brasiliensis (AbS) against STZ-induced diabetic neuropathic pain in laboratory rats. STZ-induced diabetic rats were administered orally with AbS. Body weight, serum glucose, and behavioral parameters were measured before and at the end of the experiment to see the effect of AbS on these parameters. After 6 weeks of treatments, all animals were sacrificed to study various biochemical parameters. Treatment with AbS 80？mg/kg in diabetic animals showed significant increase in body weight, pain threshold, and paw withdrawal threshold and significant decrease in serum glucose, LPO and NO level, Na-K-ATPase level, and TNF-α and IL-1β level as compared to vehicle treated diabetic animals in dose and time dependent manner. AbS can offer pain relief in PDN. This may be of potential benefit in clinical practice for the management of diabetic neuropathy. 1. Introduction Diabetic neuropathy is the most common of secondary complications associated with diabetes mellitus and is characterized by the slowing of nerve conduction velocity, elevated pain, sensory loss, and nerve fiber degeneration. Diabetes induced neuropathic pain is recognized as one of the most difficult types of pain to treat with conventional analgesics. Current treatment of peripheral diabetic neuropathy (PDN) involves the use of tricyclic antidepressant, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [1], anticonvulsants, opioids and antioxidant protein kinase C inhibitors, COX-2 inhibitors [2], nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as mild analgesics, and so on. However, these therapies provide relief only to a fraction of patients and their side effect profiles limit their use [3, 4]. Thus, there is a need for new therapeutic interventions targeting primary mechanisms resulting in nerve damage in PDN. Recently, from the point of view of “self-medication” or “preventive medicine,” several dietary supplements are used in the prevention of lifestyle related diseases including diabetes. Mushrooms and primarily basidiomycetous fungi are valuable foods that are low in calories and high in minerals, essential amino acids, vitamins, and fibers [5]. Some of them produce substances with potential medical effect and are called medicinal mushrooms [6]. The basidiomycete Agaricus brasiliensis (AbS) is native to Brazil and is widely grown in Japan because of its medicinal properties. It is widely used for nonprescript, medicinal purposes, both as an edible mushroom and in the form of extracts. AbS has traditionally been used for the
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