Neuroprotective effect of ginseng against spinal cord injury induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses

The pathophysiological effects of spinal cord injury (SCI) occur as a result of oxidative stress and inflammatory mechanisms. In the present study we analyzed the protective role of ginseng on spinal injury in wistar rats. To evaluate the redox status, we investigated various parameters including estimation of reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation content, protein carbonyl and sulphydryl content, myeloperoxidase activity, antioxidant status (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-s-transferase). Expression of antioxidant transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was determined through immunoblot. Inflammatory study was performed by evaluating the expression of nuclear factor-κB, cycloxygenase-2 by western blot analysis. Further the pro-inflammatory cytokines were determined through ELISA (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β). We observed a significant enhancement in oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in rats with SCI injury. Ginseng treatment significantly down regulated the oxidative stress by enhancing the antioxidant status in SCI rats. Significant inhibition of inflammation was observed through down regulation of inflammatory proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus our findings show that Ginseng significantly ameliorated spinal cord injury in wistar rats by modulating oxidative stress and inflammation.