Abstract
The extract of salvia miltiorrhiza radix (SMR) is a well known Chinese herbal medicine known as danshen. It has been found in several experimental studies, published mostly in China, to have antioxidant properties. The purpose of this experiment was, therefore, to compare the effects of danshen injection with those of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and mannitol on skeletal muscle ischemia and reperfusion injury in rabbits. The authors used a rabbit limb replantation model subjected to 5 h of global ischemia. Immediately before reperfusion, the animals received SOD (16,000 U/kg), mannitol (1 g/kg) or danshen injection (2 g/kg) intravenously. Both danshen and mannitol significantly increased limb survival (P<0.01). Increased limb survival was observed in the SOD-treated group compared with the saline-treated group (P<0.05) but not with the ischemic group (P>0.05). Light and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the pathologic and ultrastructural changes in skeletal muscles, which were subjected to 5 h of ischemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion, were reduced with SOD, mannitol and danshen injection. These results suggest that the hydroxyl radical seems to be the most important factor in ischemia and reperfusion injury to skeletal muscle and that danshen, like mannitol, may have a role in antioxidation as a hydroxyl radical scavenger.
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