ABSTRACT
OB JECTIVE To study the protective effects of saponins from Gleditsia sinensis on ischemic stroke with phlegm and blood stasis （ISPBS）model rats ，and to explore its mechanism. METHODS Totally 119 rats were randomly divided into normal group （normal saline ），sham operation group （normal saline ），model group （normal saline ），nimodipine group （positive control group ，5 mg/kg），G. sinensis saponin low-dose ，medium-dose and high-dose groups （3.21，6.42 and 12.84 mg/kg），with 17 rats in each group. Except for normal group ，other groups were all given high-fat diet+suture-occluded method to induce ISPBS model. The neurological function score ，water content of brain tissue ，pathological morphology of brain tissue ，the changes of hemorheology indexes （whole blood viscosity ， erythrocyte aggregation index ， Casson-viscosity）， four items of blood lipid [triacylglycerol （TG），total cholesterol （TC），low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C），high-density lipoprotein cholesterol（HDL-C）] and inflammatory factors in serum and oxidative stress indexes [malondialdehyde （MDA），nitric oxide （NO），superoxide dismutase （SOD）] in brain tissue were determined or observed in rats. The protein expressions of B lymphocytoma 2（Bcl-2），Bcl-2 associated X protein （Bax）and caspase- 3 in cerebral tissue were also detected. RESULTS Compared with normal group ，the score of nerve function ，5 kinds of serum indexes （TC，TG，LDL-C，TNF-α，IL-1β）， hemorheology indexes ，the contents of MDA and NO and protein expressions of Bax and caspase- 3 in cerebral tissue were all increased significantly in model group （P＜0.01）. The levels of HDL-C and IL- 10 in serum ，SOD activity and protein expression of Bcl- 2 in cerebral tissue were decreased significantly （P＜0.01），and obvious lesions such as nuclear pyknosis and cell membrane fragmentation occurred in brain tissue. Compared with model group ，above indexes of administration groups were improved to different extents ，among which there was statistical significance in above indexes of G. sinensis saponin high-dose group （P＜ 0.01）. CONCLUSIONS Saponin from G. sinensis has a good protective effect on ISPBS model rats. Its mechanism may beassociated with reducing oxidative damage ， reducing the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and resisting neuronal apoptosis.