Effects of hydroxysafflor yellow A on the experimental traumatic brain injury in rats

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) on traumatic brain injury (TBI). Rats were divided into four groups: control, TBI, TBI combined with HSYA, and TBI combined with nimodipine. Saline, HSYA, or nimodipine was i.v. injected at 30 min before and 6 h after the onset of TBI. The contusion volume of brain, mitochondrial ATPase activity, brain malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and the concentrations of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in the blood plasma were investigated. The results showed that the inhibitory rate of HSYA at a dose of 4 mg/kg was 59.2% compared with the TBI group. After the insult by TBI for 48 h, the activity of Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase, Ca²⁺-ATPase, and Mg²⁺-ATPase decreased to 31, 35, and 38% of control group. HSYA increased these ATPase activities by 162, 96, and 131% of TBI group. HSYA also increased superoxide dismutase activity and decreased MDA content in the right parietal lobe adjacent to contusion foci in TBI rats. HSYA enhanced the t-PA activity by 64.64%, decreased the PAI-1 activity by 71.88%, and decreased the MMP-9 expression to 49.11% in the hippocampus of the TBI group at 12 h. In conclusion, HSYA may exert a potential therapeutic strategy to improve the outcome following TBI injury.

Keywords:

• hydroxysafflor yellow A
• traumatic brain injury
• ATPase
• SOD
• t-PA
• MMP-9

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by grants from the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Y207256), the Zhejiang Provincial Scientific Foundation of China (2008C33061), and the Zhejiang Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Foundation of China (2004C092, 2008YA021).