Ascorbic Acid Effect on Morphine Withdrawal Symptoms in Rats

Introduction: Today, drug addiction is an important healthcare issue. Any helps to drug withdrawal may decrease its prevalence in the society. Ascorbic acid is a component, which can affect neurotransmitter systems as a regulator along with its cofactor role. Noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems are two important neurotransmitter systems in the opiate withdrawal syndrome. It seems that ascorbic acid can decrease the symptoms of opiate withdrawal through regulating the related systems. In this regard, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of ascorbic acid on the symptoms of morphine withdrawal in Syrian mice. Materials and Methods: Male Syrian mice in eight experimental groups received incremental doses of morphine as 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/kg within the first, second, third, and fourth days of the experiment, respectively, through intraperitoneal injection, twice a day, and the control group received and equal amount of saline. On the fifth day, six groups of morphine addicts received ascorbic acid with six doses of 10, 50, 100, 200,400 and 800 mg/kg through intraperitoneal injection. Then, naloxone 2 mg/kg was injected to all groups including morphine alone and morphine with acute does of ascorbic acid. Then, withdrawal symptoms were evaluated for 30 minutes. Results: Administration of an acute dose of ascorbic acid reduced dose dependent withdrawal symptoms in such a way that 10, 50, and 100 mg/kg doses of ascorbic acid reduced “writhing” symptom, 200 mg/kg reduced “jumping” symptom, and 400 and 800 mg/kg reduced “climbing, jumping, and standing” symptoms. Conclusion: It seems that ascorbic acid administration can improve the symptoms of opiate withdrawal syndrome. More studies on human population can also indicate the therapeutic effect of ascorbic acid on drug withdrawal.

The effects of Berberis vulgaris L. root extract on the opiate withdrawal syndrome and psychological factors: a randomized double-blind clinical trial

Objectives In this clinical trial, the effect of aqueous extract of Berberis vulgaris L. was investigated on opiate withdrawal syndrome, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality in opioid addicts which were under methadone maintenance therapy. Methods For this purpose, 52 opiate addicts were randomly selected of whom 28 received 500 mg capsules of B. vulgaris extract (treatment) and the rest received 500 mg of starch capsules (placebo), twice daily for 4 weeks. Signs and symptoms of opiate withdrawal syndrome, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality were assessed through Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) questionnaires at baseline and after 7, 14, and 28 days of receiving intervention. Results Signs and symptoms of opiate withdrawal syndrome were significantly improved in those who received the extract for 1 month compared to the placebo group. However, there were no significant differences in depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality scores in the treatment group compared to those in the placebo group. Conclusions The extract of B. vulgaris root as a traditional herbal product in combination with methadone could improve the symptoms and signs of opiate withdrawal.