Protective Effects of Tengcha Flavonoids on the Global Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion Injury of Rats

OBJECTIVE To study the protective effects and mechanism of Tengcha flavonoids(TCF) on focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats. METHODS Ninety-six Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group, nimodipine group(10 mg·kg^-1·d^-1, TCF low dose, middle dose, high dose group(20, 40 and 80 mg·kg^-1·d^-1). Control group and model group were given the same volume of physiological saline, once a day, for gavage 5 days. Cerebral ischemia model was established in rats through occluding the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). After ischemia for 2 h, all animals were reperfused for 24 h and were killed. Behavior and infarct size were evaluated, and malondi-aldehyde(MDA) content and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity of brain were observed. RESULTS Compared with the model group, the infarction area in the TCF 40 and 80 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 groups were significantly lower(P<0.05), MDA content of brain tissue of all TCF groups decreased(P<0.05) and SOD activity increased significantly(P<0.05). CONCLUSION TCF have protective effects on focal brain ischemia reperfusion injury in rats by improving state of oxidative stress and increasing activity of antioxidant enzymes.