Neuroprotective effect of 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg(3) against transient focal cerebral ischemia in rats

作者：He, Bo; Chen, Peng; Yang, Jianyu; Yun, Yu; Zhang, Xiaochao; Yang, Renhua; Shen, Zhiqiang^*

来源：Neuroscience Letters, 2012, 526(2): 106-111.

DOI：10.1016/j.neulet.2012.08.022

• 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg3
• Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury
• Apoptosis
• Calpain
• Caspase-3

Gensenosides, the active ingredients of Chinese herbal medicine Panax ginseng, have a wide spectrum of medical effects, such as anti-tumorigenic, angiosuppressive, adaptogenic, and anti-fatigue activities. In the present study, we have investigated the neuroprotective effect of 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg(3) (20(R)-Rg(3)) against transient focal cerebral ischemia in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The middle cerebral artery was occluded for 2 h in rats and then reperfused for 24 h. The behavioral disturbance was evaluated according to neurological deficit scores, and the infarct volumes were evaluated by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining; in addition, ischemia-mediated apoptosis was examined using the method of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated d-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). The expressions of calpain I and caspase-3 mRNA in hippocampal CA1 region were further assayed using in situ hybridization, in order to clarify the neuroprotective mechanism of 20(R)-Rg(3). 20(R)-Rg(3) at the doses of 10 and 20 mg kg(-1) i.p., but not 5 mg kg(-1), showed significant neuroprotective effect in rats against focal cerebral ischemic injury by markedly reducing cerebral infarct volumes and degrading infarct rate of TTC-stained coronal brain sections, and improving behavior of the animals. Our results also suggested that 20(R)-Rg(3) (10 and 20 mg kg(-1)) could significantly suppress the expressions of calpain I and caspase-3 mRNA. These results indicated that 20(R)-Rg(3) attenuates the neuronal apoptosis caused by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and its neuprotective effect may be involved in the downregulation of calpain land caspase-3.

• 出版日期2012-9-27
• 单位昆明医科大学