Pretreatment with scutellaria baicalensis stem-leaf total flavonoid protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in hippocampal neurons

Abstract

Previous experimental studies have shown that cerebral infarction can be effectively reduced following treatment with scutellaria baicalensis stem-leaf total flavonoid (SSTF). However, the mechanism of action of SSTF as a preventive drug to treat cerebral infarction remains unclear. In this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with 50, 100, 200 mg/kg SSTF via intragastric administration for 1 week prior to the establishment of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The results showed that pretreatment with SSTF effectively improved neurological function, reduced brain water content and the permeability of blood vessels, ameliorated ischemia-induced morphology changes in hippocampal microvessels, down-regulated Fas and FasL protein expression, elevated the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and decreased malondialdehyde content. In contrast to low-dose SSTF pretreatment, the above changes were most obvious after pretreatment with moderate- and high-doses of SSTF. Experimental findings indicate that SSTF pretreatment can exert protective effects on the brain against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The underlying mechanisms may involve reducing brain water content, increasing microvascular recanalization, inhibiting the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons, and attenuating free radical damage.

The effect of <italic>Scutellaria baicalensis</italic> stem-leaf flavonoids on spatial learning and memory in chronic cerebral ischemia-induced vascular dementia of rats

“…SSTF (50 mg/kg) administration did not significantly affect the behavior of rats in probe trail, suggesting that 100 mg/kg might be the minimum dose required. Initially, we thought that SSTF might ameliorate the deficits of spatial learning and memory through reducing the brain infarction, because pretreatment with SSTF prevents cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury [5,42]. However, in this study, the SSTF treatment did not significantly decrease the infarct volume in the brain (Fig.…”

Baicalin inhibits inflammation and attenuates myocardial ischaemic injury by aryl hydrocarbon receptor

“…In decades, increasing flavonoid compounds derived from plants, especially medicinal herbs, have been reported to possess potent pharmacological action, including anti‐oxidative, anti‐hypoxic, anti‐inflammatory and anti‐ischaemia reperfusion injury [47,48]. However, many of molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects remain unknown, and additionally revealing and identifying the novel specific targets of phytochemicals are considered to be critical for the natural product‐based therapeutic strategies [49,50]. Baicalin, a new AhR ligand, has been used to antagonize cell proliferation, suppress inflammation and protect the heart system [28,29,33].…”

Fas-FasL expression and myocardial cell apoptosis in patients with viral myocarditis

“…In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the incidence of the disease, and the symptoms are sometimes undetectable, which may result in sudden cardiac death and increase the level of harm (Kong et al, 2014;Chiu et al, 2015;Li et al, 2015). Studies investigating the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis and its underlying mechanisms may lead to effective control of its occurrence and provide a basis for improved treatments.…”