Abstract:

Objective: To study the effect of polysaccharide extracted from Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz on brain inflammatory response during focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats. Methods: Focal cerebral ischemia was induced in anesthetized rats by using a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. Eighty-four male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham group, reperfusion group, distilled water group and Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz polysaccharide group. Then three subgroups of each rat group were obtained at 1 h of MCAO with different time intervals (6 , 12 and 24 h) of reperfusion. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity assay and calculation of blood vessels with positive immunohistochemical staining of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were performed in the ischemic brain tissues. Results: The ICAM-1-positive blood vessels in Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz polysaccharide group are significantly less than those in reperfusion group and distilled water group at different time intervals of reperfusion (p ＜ 0.01). The MPO activity in Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz polysaccharide group is significantly lower than that in reperfusion group and distilled water group (p＜0.01). Conclusion: Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz polysaccharide could dramatically decrease neutrophil infiltration and ICAM-1 expression in the ischemic areas. It might be helpful to ameliorate the reperfusion injury induced by brain inflammatory response.

Key words: Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz polysaccharide, brain ischemia, reperfusion, intercellular adhesion molecule-1