Protective and antioxidant effect of Danshen polysaccharides on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

It is well documented that oxidative stress has been implicated as one of the leading causes for brain damage induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). In this study, we assessed the potential cerebraprotective and antioxidant effects of the polysaccharides (DSP) from the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza against global cerebral I/R injury in an animal model established by blocking bilateral common carotid arteries (BCCA) for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 24 h. The rats were treated with their respective treatments for 10 days prior to the BCCA occlusion. After that, animals were sacrificed by decapitation, brain was removed, and various biochemical estimations, cerebral edema and assessment of cerebral infarct size were carried out. We found that pretreatment with DSP significantly decreased the neurological deficit scores, percentage of infarction and brain edema and the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, DSP also increased mitochondria superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) production in cerebral ischemia brain. In conclusion, these studies suggest that pretreatment with DSP provides significant protection against cerebral I/R injury in rats most probably by virtue of its antioxidant property.