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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
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Published on: July 11, 2017
Effect of puerarin on neural function and histopathological damages after transient spinal cord ischemia in rabbits
Han-fei Sang1, Qi-bing Mei, Li-xian Xu
1Department of Pharmacology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710033, China. shf727@fmmu.edu.cn
Objective:
To investigate the effect of puerarin on the neural function and the histopathological changes after ischemic spinal cord injury in rabbits.
Methods:
Thirty male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups as follows: puerarin group (n=10) receiving intravenous infusion of 30 mg/kg puerarin for 10 minutes, control group (n=10) receiving intravenous infusion of the same volume of normal saline as puerarin for 10 minutes, and sham operation group (n=10) undergoing only the surgical exposure of the abdominal aorta. Temporary spinal cord ischemia was induced by infrarenal aortic occlusion for 20 minutes and followed by reperfusion. The neural status was scored with the Tarlov criteria at 8, 12, 24 and 48 hours after reperfusion. All the animals were killed at 48 hours after reperfusion and the spinal cords (L5) were removed immediately for histopathological study.
Results:
The neural function scores at 8, 12, 24 and 48 hours after reperfusion were higher in the puerarin group and sham operation group than those in the control group (P<0.05). More normal motor neurons in the anterior horn of spinal cord were present in the puerarin group and sham operation group than those in the control group (P<0.01). There was a strong correlation between the final neural function scores and the number of normal motor neurons in the anterior horn of spinal cord (r=0.839, P<0.01).
Conclusions:
Puerarin can significantly ameliorate the neural function and the histopathological damages after transient spinal cord ischemia in rabbits.
