Niloofar Barzegar-Fallah1, Nasrin Baery2, Majid Soleymankhani3, Nafiseh Malekmohammadi4, Houman Alimoradi5, Abdolhamid Parsa6, Anita Barzegar-Fallah5,7. 1. a Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology , Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Centre, Islamic Azad University , Tehran , Iran. 2. b Faculty of Traditional Medicine , Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Mashhad , Iran. 3. c Department of Pharmacognosy & Pharmaceutics , Institute of Medicinal Plants, ACECR , Karaj , Iran. 4. d Midwifery, Islamic Azad University , Tehran Medical Branch , Tehran , Iran. 5. e Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology , University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand. 6. f Department of Pharmacognosy , School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran. 7. g Department of Pharmacology , School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
Abstract
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Essential oil (EO) of Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff, whose main composition is Z-ligustilide, has been shown to have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and potent neuroprotective properties. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study examined whether or not the EO could ameliorate brain damage and behavioural dysfunction in a thromboembolic model of stroke in rats and compare its effects to that of the purified Z-ligustilide. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Stroke was induced in rats by middle cerebral artery occlusion using an autologous pre-formed clot. EO (10 mg kg(-1) and 45 mg kg(-1)) and Z-ligustilide (20 mg kg(-1)) were injected intraperitoneally 1 h prior to embolization. Behavioural scores, infarct size and brain oedema, as well as the level of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), malondialdehyde, glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase activity were determined in the ipsilateral cortex 24 hours following stroke induction. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: EO (45 mg kg(-1)), statistically similar to Z-ligustilide (20 mg kg(-1)), curtailed brain infarction and oedema, improved behavioural scores and prevented enhanced oxidative stress and TNF-α level in the ischaemic brain tissues. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide the first evidence of effectiveness of the extract in a thromboembolic model of stroke, whose action can be mediated, at least in part, by the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:Essential oil (EO) of Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff, whose main composition is Z-ligustilide, has been shown to have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and potent neuroprotective properties. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study examined whether or not the EO could ameliorate brain damage and behavioural dysfunction in a thromboembolic model of stroke in rats and compare its effects to that of the purified Z-ligustilide. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Stroke was induced in rats by middle cerebral artery occlusion using an autologous pre-formed clot. EO (10 mg kg(-1) and 45 mg kg(-1)) and Z-ligustilide (20 mg kg(-1)) were injected intraperitoneally 1 h prior to embolization. Behavioural scores, infarct size and brain oedema, as well as the level of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), malondialdehyde, glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase activity were determined in the ipsilateral cortex 24 hours following stroke induction. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS:EO (45 mg kg(-1)), statistically similar to Z-ligustilide (20 mg kg(-1)), curtailed brain infarction and oedema, improved behavioural scores and prevented enhanced oxidative stress and TNF-α level in the ischaemic brain tissues. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide the first evidence of effectiveness of the extract in a thromboembolic model of stroke, whose action can be mediated, at least in part, by the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.