Neuroprotective effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on neuronal injury in hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia in rats.

Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been developed as a drug to be used for treatment of stroke for hundreds of years. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, the effects of BYHWD on delayed neuronal death of hippocampus after transient forebrain ischemia were examined in rats. Transient forebrain ischemia in a duration of 15 min was induced with the four-vessel occlusion method. BYHWD (per 6.65 g/kg) was given orally to rats twice each day for 7 days before ischemia. In BYHWD-pretreated rats, the neuronal injury in the hippocampal CA1 region was significantly less than that of controls. Oral administration of BYHWD also markedly attenuated the number of TUNEL-positive neurons and suppressed the expression of caspase-3p20, a product of catalytically active caspase-3, in the CA1 region. Our results suggest that an inhibition of caspase-3 and apoptosis by BYHWD may partially account for its neuroprotection against ischemic injury in the hippocampal CA1 region.