Carthamus tinctorius L. ameliorates brain injury followed by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats by antioxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

1 Department of Critical Care Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, 40705, Taiwan

2 School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

3 Research Center for Industry of Human Ecology, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan

4 Animal Technology Laboratory, Agriculture Technology Research Institute, Miaoli, Taiwan

5 Department of Medical Research, Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Taichung 43503, Taiwan

6 School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

7 Research Center for Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

8 Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

9 Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

Abstract

Objective(s): Carthamus tinctorius L. (CT) or saffloweris widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. This study investigated the effects of CT extract (CTE) on ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) brain injury and elucidated the underlying mechanism.
Materials and Methods: The I/R model was conducted by occlusion of both common carotid arteries and right middle cerebral artery for 90 min followed by 24 hr reperfusion in Sprague-Dawley rats. CTE (0.2-0.6 g/kg) was administered intraperitoneally before and during ischemia, and during reperfusion period. The cerebral infarction area, neurological deficit scores, free radicals (lucigenin chemiluminescence counts) and pro-inflammatory cytokines expression were measured.
Results: Pretreatment and treatment with CTE significantly reduced the cerebral infarction area and neurological deficits. CTE (0.4 g/kg) also reduced blood levels of free radicals and expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β in the cerebral infarction area.
Conclusion: The reduction in I/R cerebral infarction caused by CTE is possibly associated with its antioxidation and anti-inflammatory properties.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
Volume 19, Issue 12
December 2016
Pages 1368-1375

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