Ginsenoside Rg2 Ameliorates Brain Injury After Intracerebral Hemorrhage in a Rat Model of Preeclampsia.

Abstract

The incidence of maternal hemorrhagic stroke is elevated in women with preeclampsia during pregnancy. Panax ginseng is a traditional medicinal herb with numerous applications, and ginsenosides are the key bioactive compounds in Panax ginseng. This study aims to evaluate the effects of ginsenoside Rg2 on pregnancy outcomes and brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in a rat model of preeclampsia. Preeclampsia was induced in rats by N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Then, an ICH model was prepared by intrastriatal injection of bacterial collagenase. Ginsenoside Rg2 markedly elevated the survival ratio of fetuses. The placental and body weights were increased in the ginsenoside Rg2 group. Compared with the preeclampsia group, the Garcia test score of ginsenoside Rg2-treated rats was significantly increased. Ginsenoside Rg2 treatment ameliorated the ICH-induced augmentation of Evans blue extravasation, inhibited the ICH-induced elevation of brain water content, and reduced the interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in the hemorrhagic hemisphere after ICH in preeclampsia model rats. Furthermore, ginsenoside Rg2 treatment not only inhibited augmentation of TLR-4, MyD88, p-IκBα, and p-NF-κB expression but also abated the reduction of occludin and claudin-5 expression in the hemorrhagic hemisphere. The findings indicated that ginsenoside Rg2 improved pregnancy outcomes in a rat model of preeclampsia without decreasing the blood pressure and urine protein level. The findings also demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg2 ameliorated ICH-induced neurological disorder and blood-brain barrier dysfunction in an animal model of preeclampsia by regulating the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.