Neuron restorative potency of pisonia alba on animal models of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-induced oxidative stress

Abstract

In this study, rats' brain ischemia/reperfusion-induced oxidative stress was tested for its ability to protect rats' neurons. By blocking the bilateral carotid arteries for 30 minutes, followed by one hour and four hours of reperfusion, male albino Wistar rats underwent global cerebral ischemia. At different times following reperfusion, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-s-transferase (GST), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) activity, as well as the amount of brain water, were analysed. MDA and hydrogen peroxide concentrations increased prior to ischemic changes, whereas GPx, GR, and GST activity decreased afterward. After treatment with P alba, the oxidative stress brought on by ischemia was significantly reduced. P alba treatment rapidly reversed and recovered to nearly normal levels in the groups pre-treated with methanolic extract (250 and 500 mg/kg, provided orally in single and double doses/day for 10 days). This effect was dose-dependent. P alba changed the cerebral water content in the rats who underwent ischemia and reperfusion. The histological alterations in the mice with cerebral ischemia further supported the neurodegeneration. The results of this study show that P alba protects neurons by reducing oxidative stress in rats suffering from global cerebral ischemia injury.