Improving Effect of Phenylethanoid Glycosides from Tibetan Medicine Phlomis younghusbandii on Rats with Acute High-altitude Cerebral Edema / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the improving effect of phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGCs) from Tibetan medicine Phlomis younghusbandii on rats with acute high-altitude cerebral edema. METHODS:60 Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normoxia control group (isometric sterile water for injection),a hypoxia model group (isometric sterile water for injection),a dexamethasone group(4 mg/kg),and three groups of PhGCs at high(400 mg/kg),middle(200 mg/kg)and low(50 mg/kg)dos-es,with 10 rats in each group. The rats were given drugs,ig,6 d before the establishment of models. On the 4th day of administra-tion,ig,the rats in all groups except the normoxia blank group were placed in a simulated 8 000 m altitude plateau environment for 72 h hypoxic exposure to establish the rat models of high-altitude cerebral edema. Following HE stain,the pathological changes in rats’brain tissues were observed under the light microscope. Dry-wet proportion method was used to determine the water con-tents in rats’brain. The content of MDA and the activities of SOD and GSH in rats’brain tissues were detected. Enzyme-linked im-munosorbent assay was adopted to determine the contents of IL-1β and TNF-α in rats’serum and brain tissues. RESULTS:Com-pared to the rats in the normoxia control group,those in the hypoxia model group showed obvious brain edema,and thickened lacu-nas around cells and vessels and inflammatory cell infiltration, higher water contents and MDA and weaker activities of SOD and GSH in brain,and higher contents of IL-1β and TNF-α in serum and brain tissues. There were statistically significances (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Compared to the rats in the hypoxia model group,those in the groups of PhGCs at high,middleand low dosages demonstrated less inflammatory cell infiltration and lower water contents in brain tissues,in which the groups of PhGCs at high and middle dosages demonstrated lower content of MDA and stronger activities of SOD and GSH in brain tissues, and lower contents of IL-1β and TNF-α in serum and brain tissues. There were statistically significances (P<0.01 or P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:PhGCs can obviously alleviate the acute cerebral injury in rats which is caused by acute hypoxia and has im-provement effect to some degree on the rats with acute high-altitude cerebral edema.