Abstract: Te aim of this study was to investigate the e?ects of boric acid in experimental acute sciatic nerve injury. Twenty-eight adult male rats were randomly divided into four equal groups (n = 7): control (C), boric acid (BA), sciatic nerve injury (I) , and sciatic nerve injury + boric acid treatment (BAI). Sciatic nerve injury was generated using a Yasargil aneurysm clip in the groups I and BAI. Boric acid was given four times at 100 mg/kg to rats in the groups BA and BAI afer injury (by gavage at 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours) but no injury was made in the group BA. In vivo electrophysiological tests were performed at the end of the day 4 and sciatic nerve tissue samples were taken for histopathological examination. The amplitude of compound action potential, the nerve conduction velocity and the number of axons were signifcantly lower and the myelin structure was found to be broken in group I compared with those in groups C and BA. However, the amplitude of the compound action potential, the nerve conduction velocity and the number of axons were signifcantly greater in group BAI than in group I. Moreover, myelin injury was signifcantly milder and the intensity of nuclear factor kappa B immunostaining was signifcantly weaker in group BAI than in group I. Te results of this study show that administration of boric acid at 100 mg/kg afer sciatic nerve injury in rats markedly reduces myelin and axonal injury and improves the electrophysiological function of injured sciatic nerve possibly through alleviating oxidative stress reactions.

Key words: nerve regeneration, peripheral nerve injury, sciatic nerve, boric acid, nerve conduction velocity, axon, myelin, electrophysiology, neural regeneration