Neuroprotection by methanol extract of Uncaria rhynchophylla against global cerebral ischemia in rats

• Published in: Life sciences (1973) Vol. 70; no. 21; pp. 2467 - 2480
• Main Authors: Suk, Kyoungho, Kim, Sun Yeou, Leem, Kanghyun, Kim, Young Ock, Park, Sun Young, Hur, Jinyoung, Baek, Jihwoon, Lee, Kang Jin, Zheng, Hu Zhan, Kim, Hocheol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 21-04-2002
• Subjects: Animals; Blotting, Western; Cell Death - drug effects; Cell Line; Cyclooxygenase; Cyclooxygenase 2; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Dinoprostone - biosynthesis; Dinoprostone - genetics; Hippocampus - pathology; Immunohistochemistry; Indicators and Reagents; Ischemia; Ischemic Attack, Transient - drug therapy; Ischemic Attack, Transient - pathology; Isoenzymes - metabolism; Mice; Neurons - drug effects; Neuroprotection; Neuroprotective Agents - pharmacology; Nitric Oxide - biosynthesis; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plant Roots - chemistry; Plant Stems - chemistry; Plants, Medicinal - chemistry; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases - metabolism; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rubiaceae - chemistry; TNF-α; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - antagonists & inhibitors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; Uncaria rhynchophylla; Neuroprotection; Cyclooxygenase; Ischemia; TNF-α; Uncaria rhynchophylla
• ISSN: 0024-3205; 1879-0631
• DOI: 10.1016/S0024-3205(02)01534-5

In traditional Oriental medicine,
Uncaria rhynchophylla has been used to lower blood pressure and to relieve various neurological symptoms. However, scientific evidence related to its effectiveness or precise modes of action has not been available. Thus, in the current study, we evaluated neuroprotective effects of
U. rhynchophylla after transient global ischemia using 4-vessel occlusion model in rats. Methanol extract of
U. rhynchophylla administered intraperitoneally (100–1000 mg/kg at 0 and 90 min after reperfusion) significantly protected hippocampal CA1 neurons against 10 min transient forebrain ischemia. Measurement of neuronal cell density in CA1 region at 7 days after ischemia by Nissl staining revealed more than 70% protection in
U. rhynchophylla-treated rats compared to saline-treated animals. In
U. rhynchophylla-treated animals, induction of cyclooxygenase-2 in hippocampus at 24 hr after ischemia was significantly inhibited at both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore,
U. rhynchophylla extract inhibited TNF-α and nitric oxide production in BV-2 mouse microglial cells
in vitro. These anti-inflammatory actions of
U. rhynchophylla extract may contribute to its neuroprotective effects.