Protective effect of flavonoids from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi on cerebral ischemia injury

The protective effect of flavonoids extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi on cerebral ischemia injury has been explored in experimental animals. Scutellaria flavonoid (SF) could significantly prolong gasping time (prolonged ratio, 23.79%) and survival time after carotid artery occlusion, and decrease attenuate malondialdehyde (MDA) content in damaged brain tissues from 118.56 +/- 47.95 nmol/g in untreated to 199.29 +/- 24.24 nmol/g. SF could also increase the content of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in brain tissues after ischemic mice from 1486 +/- 94 NU/g in untreated to 1168 +/- 76 NU/g, and showed significant protective effect on cerebral hypoxia and reperfusion brain tissues in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) procedure. Additionally, SF has inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation, with the average inhibition rate of 45.52%, while the aspirin group was 54.96%. These results suggest that SF has a significant protective effect on cerebral ischemia and ischemia-reperfusion induced brain injury. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.