Neuroprotective effects of safflor yellow B on brain ischemic injury

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate whether safflor yellow B (SYB) had a protective effect on cerebral ischemic injury and to determine the possible mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, Male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used to make the model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The behavioral test was used to measure neurological deficit scores for evaluation of the ischemic damage of brain. The infarction area of brain was assessed in brain slices stained with 2% solution of 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC). Spectrophotometric assay was used to determine the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) of the brain. Furthermore, the respiratory control ratio (RCR = state 3/state 4) was assessed in the brain mitochondria. In vitro, the effect of SYB was tested in cultured fetal cortical cells exposed to glutamate to identify its neuroprotection against neurons damage. The results in vivo showed that SYB at doses of 3.0 and 6.0 mg kg(-1) markedly decreased the neurological deficit scores and the infarction area in MCAO rats. At the same time, SYB significantly improved mitochondrial energy metabolism, decreased MDA content, and increased SOD and GPx activities in ischemic brain. The results in vitro showed that SYB remarkably inhibited neuron damage induced by glutamate in cultured fetal cortical cells. These suggest that SYB might act as a potential neuroprotective agent against the cerebral ischemia-induced injury in rat brain through reducing lipid peroxides, scavenging free radicals, and improving the energy metabolism.

Protective effects ofCarthamus tinctoriusinjection on isoprenaline-induced myocardial injury in rats

“…About 40% of all AMIs demonstrated S-T segment elevation (Hellermann et al, 2002). A large amount of evidence has demonstrated that C. tinctorius (safflower) or its components possess protective effects against myocardial or cerebral ischemia (Zheng et al, 2003;Wang et al, 2007). In our study, administration of CTI (2.5 and 0.625 g/kg, respectively, for 5 days) could markedly attenuate the increase of ST-segment elevation.…”

Leonurine Protects Middle Cerebral Artery Occluded Rats Through Antioxidant Effect and Regulation of Mitochondrial Function

“…Our results are consistent with previous work. 21,22 With Leonurine treatment, enhanced activities of SOD and GPx and a decreased level of MDA were observed. A time point study is needed to identify the causality of changes of these biomarkers to identify if it is a direct antioxidant effect of Leonurine.…”

Safflower Yellow regulates microglial polarization and inhibits inflammatory response in LPS-stimulated Bv2 cells

“…SY has multiple pharmacological actions such as inhibiting platelet aggregation, anticoagulation, anti-oxidation, and anti-inflammation. [14][15][16][17] It has been reported that HSYA inhibits the phosphorylation of NF-κB and p38 MAPK in BV2 cells in OGD/reoxygeneration (OGD/R) conditions, accompanied by the downregulation of inflammatory IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. 18 Human epithelial cell strain A549 has been stimulated by LPS to activate the TLR4/ Myd88/NF-κB inflammatory pathway, while HYSA also reduces TLR4 expression on mRNA and protein levels.…”