Effect of prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao pretreatment on the levels of nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and tumor necrosis factor-α in brain tissue after focal cerebral ischemia- reperfusion in rats

Abstract

Objeclive To investigate the protective effect and its mechanism of prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao （a traditional Chinese medical prescription, including Astragalus membranaceus, Atractylodes macrocephala, Arisaema cure Bile, Rhizoma pinelliae, the seed of Prunus persica, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum Chuanxiong, Paeonia lactiflora, and Pueraria, etc） pretreatment on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats. Methods Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operation, ischemia-reperfusion, flunarizine and prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao low-, medium- and high-dose groups （n = 10 in each group）. A rat model of focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion was induced by suture method （ischemia for 3 hours followed by reperfusion for 24 hours）. Nitric oxide （NO） was measured by the nitrate reductase method; superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity was assessed by the xanthine oxidase method; malondialdehyde （MDA） was determined by the thiobarbituric acid method; and tumor necrosis factor-or （TNF-α） was detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） method. Results Prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao significantly improved neurological deficits in focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats, reduced the content of NO and MDA in brain tissue, increased SOD activity, and down-regulated the expression of TNF-α. Among them, the role of the highdose group was more significant （P 〈0. 01 ）. There were also significant differences between the low-and medium-dose groups and the isehemia-reperfusion group （P 〈 0. 05 ）. Conclusions The pretreatment of prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao has the protective effect on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and its mechanism may be associated with the decreased content of NO and MDA in brain tissue, increased SOD activity, and down-regulated TNF-α expression. Key words: prescription Zu Zhong 1 Hao; flunarizine; cerebral ischemia; reperfusion injury; nitric oxide; malondialdehyde; superoxide dismutase; tumor necrosis factor-α; rats