Effect of diazepam on the contents of amino acids and free radical during ischemia/reperfusion injury.

The protective effect and mechanism of diazepam on ischemia neurons during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion were studied. Sixty-three Wistar rats were divided randomly into nine groups: control group (n = 7), ischemia (is) groups including subgroups of is3 h, is3-h/rep1-h, is3-h/rep2-h, is3-h/rep3-h(n = 7 in each group), diazepam treated groups (10 mg/kg, i.p.), including subgroups of is3-h, is3-h/rep1-h, is3-h/rep2-h, is3-h/rep3-h (n = 7 in each group) with Zea longa's animal model of middle cerebral artery occlusion. The comparison between the ischemia group and diazepam-treated group showed that diazepam could obviously decrease the production of glutamate, asparate, MDA and increase the synthesis and release of GABA, SOD and GSH-PX. It was concluded that diazepam exerted its protective effects on neurons through complex mechanisms of regulating the synthesis and release of excitotary/inhibitory amino acids and free radicals.