Ferulic acid ameliorates nerve injury induced by cerebral ischemia in rats

This study was designed to investigate the protective effect of ferulic acid (FA) on nerve injury induced by cerebral ischemia. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery and reperfusion 90 mm later in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Daily treatment of the rats with FA was initiated 30 mm after the surgery, and was continued for 7 days. The efficacy of FA against nerve injury was assessed by neurological deficit scores as well as pathohistological observation. The expression levels in the brain and level in the peripheral blood of erythropoietin (EPO) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The results showed that FA attenuated nerve injury of the hippocampus, significantly ameliorated neurological deficits, and increased EPO but not G-CSF expression in the hippocampus and the peripheral blood of ischemic rats. The findings indicate that FA has certain protective effects on the nerve injury of cerebral ischemia, and suggest that promoting EPO in the brain and peripheral blood may be one of the neuroprotective mechanisms of FA.