Aim To investigate the protective effect of hydroxysafflor yellow A（HSYA）,a soluble element extracted from Carthamus tinctorius L.,on focal cerebral ischemia in rats.Methods Focal cerebral ischemia in male Wistar-Kyoto（WKY） rats were induced by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion（MCAO）.Three doses of 1.5,3.0 and 6.0 mg·kg-1 of HSYA were administrated to three groups of rats,separately,via sublingular vein injection 30 min after the onset of ischemia.24 h after ischemia in rats,neurological deficit scores were evaluated and the infarction area of brain was assessed by quantitative image analysis.The in vitro neuroprotective effect of HSYA was tested in cultured fetal cortical neurons exposed to glutamate and sodium cyanide（NaCN）.Results HSYA at doses of 3.0 and 6.0(mg·kg-1) exerted significant neuroprotective effects on rats with focal cerebral ischemic injury as expressed by neurological deficit scores and reduced the infarct area as compared with saline group,and the potency of HSYA at dose of 6.0 mg·kg-1 was similar to that of 0.2 mg·kg-1 of nimodipine.In vitro studies,HSYA significantly inhibited neurons damage induced by exposure to glutamate and NaCN in cultured fetal cortical cells.Conclusion HSYA has potential neuroprotective action against focal cerebral ischemia in rats and cultured rat fetal cortical neurons as well.
Aim To investigate the effect of liriodendrin, an extract from Fraxinus sielboldiana blume belonging to the Oleaceae family, on dopamine-induced cytotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Methods Cell viability was processed when treated with 50 μmol·L^-1 of dopamine for 24 h by MTT assay. Early apoptosis, late apoptosis/necrosis were analyzed by flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide （PI） double-staining, respectively. Generation of reactive oxygen species （ROS） was assessed by DCFH-DA, an oxidation-sensitive fluorescent probe. To evaluate mitochondrion membrane potential （Δψm） using flow cytometry with the fluorescent dye Rhodamine 123. The transcriptional level of P53 was studied using RT- PCR. Results The dopamine-induced loss of cell viability was significantly attenuated by liriodendrin treatment at the concentration of 10^-8, 10^-7, 10^-6, 10^-5 and 10^-4 mol·L^-1. The protective effects of liriodendrin （10^-7, 10^-6 and 10^-5 mol·L^-1） on dopamine-induced cytotoxicity may be ascribed to its anti-oxidative properties by reducing ROS level and anti-apoptotic effect via protection of Δψm. In addition, the effect of liriodendrin may involve the P53 pathway in apoptosis. Conclusion Liriodendrin may provide a useful therapeutic strategy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson＇s disease （PD）
