ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Trichilia catigua preparations have antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and neuroprotective activity. Recently, a neuroprotective role for T. catigua was proposed using an in vitro model of ischemia-reperfusion in rat hippocampal slices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of an ethyl-acetate fraction (EAF) of T. catigua, which has potent antioxidant activity, in mice subjected to an in vivo model of cerebral ischemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Male Swiss mice were subject to the bilateral common carotid occlusion (BCCAO) model of cerebral ischemia. The animals were orally administered the T. catigua EAF (200, 400, or 800 mg/kg) 30 min before and once per day for 7 days after BCCAO. Histological and behavioral outcomes were assessed using Nissl staining and the Morris water maze test of cognition, respectively. RESULTS: Mice that were subjected to BCCAO exhibited cognitive impairments in the Morris water maze. The spatial cognitive deficits were counteracted by T. catigua EAF administration (200-800 mg/kg). The T. catigua EAF significantly increased the number of intact-appearing Nissl-stained cells in the hippocampus in BCCAO mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the T. catigua EAF promoted functional recovery, decreased the delayed hippocampal cell loss, and mitigated the ongoing neurodegenerative processes induced by BCCAO in mice.