Antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of Cichorium intybus L. seed extract in ischemia/reperfusion injury model of rat spinal cord

Abstract

Objectives: The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of aqueous extract of chicory seed (CSE, Cichorium intybus L. seed) following spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion (SCI/R) injury in rat model were evaluated. Methods: In this study 36 male Wistar rats were randomly divided to six groups: control (Co), sham (Sh), CSE, SCI/R, CSE+SCI/R (7 days pretreatment with CSE group+inducing I/R injury), SCI/R +CSE (induced I/R injury group+3 days treatment with CSE). SCI/R injury was induced by creating a longitudinal incision on the midline of abdominal region and clamping the aorta just below renal artery for 30 minutes. After 3 days, SC was removed and used for evaluation of antioxidant enzymes (including Superoxide dismutase [SOD] and catalase [CAT]), oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde [MDA]), inflammatory factors (IL1β, IL18 & TNFα) and histopathological changes. Before sacrificing the animals, the motional score were assessed. Results: Our results demonstrated that, in the SCI/R group, the mean levels of SOD, and CAT were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the mean level of MDA was significantly increased (P<0.05) in comparison to Co and Sh groups. Also, the mean levels of SOD and CAT in the treatment group were higher than the SCI/R group (P<0.05), while, the mean MDA content in the treatment group was significantly less than the SCI/R group (P <0.05). In addition, comparison between SCI/R and treatment groups demonstrated a significant decrease in tissue damage in the treatment group. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that, the neuroprotective effects of aqueous extract of Cichorium intybus L. seed on SCI/R injury in rat by anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. Additionally, comparing the treatment and pretreatment groups shows that the pretreatment usage of the extract is more effective than treatment group.