Background: Oxidative stress is an inevitable process that occurs during life activities, and it can participate in the development of inflammation. Although great progress has been made according to research examining analgesic drugs and therapies, there remains a need to develop new analgesic drugs to fill certain gaps in both the experimental and clinical space.
Purpose: This review reports the research and preclinical progress of this class of analgesics by summarizing known nuclear factor E-2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) pathway-modulating substances.
Study design: We searched and reported experiments that intervene in the Nrf2 pathway and its various upstream and downstream molecules for analgesic therapy.
Methods: The medical literature database (PubMed) was searched for experimental studies examining the reduction of pain in animals through the Nrf2 pathway, the research methods were analyzed, and the pathways were classified and reported according to the pathway of these experimental interventions.
Results: Humans have identified a variety of substances that can fight pain by regulating the expression of Nrf2 and its upstream and downstream pathways.
Conclusion: The Nrf2 pathway exerts anti-inflammatory activity by regulating oxidative stress, thereby playing a role in the fight against pain.
Keywords: Analgesic Drugs; Nrf2 pathway; Pharmacology; Pre-clinical trial.
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