BACKGROUND:Ferula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen is composed of volatile oil, resin and gum that have the anti-inflammatory, anti-alergic, antispasmodic and analgesic effects. But its analgesic mechanism is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect ofFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen on heat pain, mechanical pain, Fos protein expression and astrocyte activation in spinal cord of rats with neuropathic pain. METHODS: Eighty adult Sprague-Dawley rat models of chronic sciatic nerve injury were randomly divided into five groups and then intragasticaly administeredFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen at low, moderate and high doses (0.075, 0.15, 0.30 g/kg), celecoxib or physiological saline. Heat pain and mechanical pain were measured at 1 day before operation and at 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 days after operation. The spinal cord tissue at S4-5 segments was harvested and Fos protein expression and astrocyte activation in the spinal cord of rats were observed by immunohistochemical staining method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After 1 and 5 days of medication, behavioral pain scores of rats in the low-, moderate-, and high-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen groups were significantly higher than that in the physiological saline group (P < 0.01). The largest reduction in heat pain threshold was measured in the moderate-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen group compared to the other groups (P < 0.01). The most significant reduction in rat mechanical pain threshold was measured in the high-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen group than in the other groups (P < 0.01). At each time point post-operation, the number of Fos protein-positive cels in the low-, moderate- and high-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen and celecoxib groups was significantly lower than that in the physiological saline group (P < 0.05); the number of Fos protein-positive cels in the moderate- and high-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M Shen groups was significantly higher than that in the celecoxib group (P< 0.05). At each time point post-operation, the number of astrocytes in the spinal cord tissue of rats in the high-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen and celecoxib groups was significantly lower than that in the physiological saline group (P< 0.05). There was significant difference in the number of astrocytes between the moderate- and high-doseFerula sinkiangensis K.M shen groups and celecoxib group (P< 0.05). These results confirm thatFerula sinkiangensis K.M. Shen may effectively aleviate the neuropathic pain of rats, and the mechanism of which may be related to the activation of Fos protein and astrocytes in the spinal cord.