Protective effect and mechanism of scutellarin ethyl ester on focal cerebral ischemia induced by ligation of middle cerebral artery in rats

Abstract

To observe the protective effect of scutellarin ethyl ester on focal cerebral ischemia injury induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats(MCAOR), and explore its mechanism. Totally 84 male SD rats were randomly divided into seven groups： sham-operated group, model group,positive drug group(niomdipine,12 mg•kg⁻¹), Brevisapin tablets group(48 mg•kg⁻¹), and high, middle and low-dose scutellarin ethyl ester groups(100, 50, 25 mg•kg⁻¹). The MCAOR model was prepared by using thread embolism method to observe the neurological function of rats, the area of cerebral infarction was measured with TTC, and the levels of MDA, SOD and NO in serum were detected with semiautomatic biochemistry analyzer.Ox-LDL and TNF-α cell injury models was established by treating HUVECs with 200 mg•L⁻¹ ox-LDL and 100 μg•L⁻¹ TNF-α,and the levels of MDA, SOD, NO, ET, 6-keto-PGF1α,TXB2, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, ICAM-1 and PECAM-1 in the cell supernatant were determined. The results showed that scutellarin ethyl ester could effectively improve the neurological function of MCAOR rats, and significantly reduce the area of cerebral infarction. Compared with the model group, activities of SOD and NO in serum increased, while content of MDA decreased. In the cell supernatant, activities of SOD, 6-keto-PGF1α and NO increased, content of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, ICAM-1, PECAM-1, TXB2, ET and MDA decreased, which indicated that scutellarin ethyl ester has a certain protective effect on focal cerebral ischemia injury induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats, and its mechanism may be related to antioxidative stress, improvement of endothelial function and reduction in inflammatory reaction.