Protective Effects of Breviscapine on Ischemic Vascular Dementia in Rats

• Published in: Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin Vol. 29; no. 9; pp. 1880 - 1885
• Main Authors: Xiong, Zhe, Liu, Chao, Wang, Fang, Li, Cailian, Wang, Wei, Wang, Jianzhi, Chen, Jianguo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 2006; Pharmaceutical Society of Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Animals; breviscapine; Dementia; Dementia, Vascular - prevention & control; Flavonoids - therapeutic use; Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - pathology; Hydrogen Peroxide - toxicity; learning; Learning - drug effects; Male; memory; Memory - drug effects; neuroprotection; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; vascular dementia
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.29.1880

Breviscapine, a traditional Chinese medicine, is extensively used in clinic to treat cardiovascular diseases and cerebrovascular injury. In this study, we demonstrated the effects of breviscapine on vascular dementia (VD) rats, which were mimicked by permanent occlusion of bilateral common carotid arteries. Breviscapine (2 mg/kg for 14 d) improved the performance of learning and memory of VD rats in Morris water maze, decreased the level of lipid peroxidation and free radicals, and attenuated the pathological alterations, such as nuclear shrink, cellular edema and irregular arrangement of pyramidal layer in the hippocampal CA1 area. In vitro experiment, breviscapine (50 μg/l) protected cortical neuron from injury and decreased intracellular calcium overloading induced by H2O2 (10 mM). The results suggest that breviscapine has therapeutic effect on cerebral ischemia and vascular dementia.