Effect of Taxifolin on Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Oxidative Injury of Sciatic Nerve in Rats

Ischemia is a condition in which blood flow to tissues is decreased or entirely stopped for various reasons. The reperfusion process exacerbates damage caused by ischemia in the organs and tissues. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are mainly responsible for ischemia-reperfusion (IR) damage. ROS increase results in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and oxidative stress. In the literature, taxifolin reportedly suppresses ROS production. This study aimed to determine the effect of taxifolin, which is a flavonoid, on IR injury of the sciatic nerve in rats.

This study divided 30 albino Wistar rats into 3 groups: IR without medication (IR) group, taxifolin applied IR (TAX+IR) group, and only dissection made to the sciatic nerve sham group (SHAM). Sciatic nerve injury was induced by applying 2 hours of ischemia and 3 hours of reperfusion to the abdominal aorta and iliolumbar arteries. Biochemical and histopathologic investigations then were performed on sciatic nerve tissues. Malondialdehyde, total glutathione, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase were analyzed as oxidative stress markers, and tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β levels were evaluated as inflammatory stress markers in biochemical tests.

The IR group has statistically significantly high oxidant and cytokine levels and low antioxidant levels compared with the TAX+IR group. Taxifolin treatment was also shown to cause significant histopathologic improvement.

We suggest that taxifolin may be effective in preventing IR injury of the sciatic nerve.