The effect of lycopene in egg shell membrane guidance channel on sciatic nerve regeneration in rats

Peripheral nerves are commonly damaged. Although the nerve autograft still subsists the gold standard in surgery of nerve injury gaps, it has severe detriment. The egg shell membrane (ESM) is a natural material, which has a great potential in practice. The aim of this survey was to appraise the effect of lycopene and the ESM nerve guidance channel on sciatic nerve regeneration. In this study, 32 male rats were randomized into four groups: sham surgery, autograft, ESM+ dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and ESM+lycopene. One centimeter of sciatic nerve was removed, and the gap was grafted by ESM channel or autograft. The sciatic function index (SFI) was evaluated at days 7, 21, 30, 49, 60 and 90 after surgery.  Nerve regeneration and gastroknemius muscle fibers were evaluated at days 30 and 90 after surgery by withdrawal reflex latency (WRL), histology and immunohistology assessments. At  49, 60 and 90 days after surgery, the mean SFI in ESM+lycopene group was significantly greater than ESM+DMSO group (P<0.05). On day 90, the mean muscle fiber diameters and the mean number of myelinated axons in ESM+lycopene and autograft groups were significantly greater than ESM+DMSO group (P<0.05). In addition, the mean WRL was significantly lower in ESM+lycopene group than in the ESM+DMSO group 90 days after surgery (P<0.05). The results of this study show that the affirmative effects of ESM+lycopene may be beneficial for treating peripheral nerve damages.