Ethnopharmacological relevanceTrichilia catigua preparations have antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and neuroprotective activity. Recently, a neuroprotective role for T. catigua was proposed using an in vitro model of ischemia–reperfusion in rat hippocampal slices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of an ethyl-acetate fraction (EAF) of T. catigua, which has potent antioxidant activity, in mice subjected to an in vivo model of cerebral ischemia. Material and methodsMale Swiss mice were subject to the bilateral common carotid occlusion (BCCAO) model of cerebral ischemia. The animals were orally administered the T. catigua EAF (200, 400, or 800mg/kg) 30min before and once per day for 7 days after BCCAO. Histological and behavioral outcomes were assessed using Nissl staining and the Morris water maze test of cognition, respectively. ResultsMice that were subjected to BCCAO exhibited cognitive impairments in the Morris water maze. The spatial cognitive deficits were counteracted by T. catigua EAF administration (200–800mg/kg). The T. catigua EAF significantly increased the number of intact-appearing Nissl-stained cells in the hippocampus in BCCAO mice. ConclusionsThese results show that the T. catigua EAF promoted functional recovery, decreased the delayed hippocampal cell loss, and mitigated the ongoing neurodegenerative processes induced by BCCAO in mice.