The combination of Astragalus membranaceus and ligustrazine mitigates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury via regulating NR2B-ERK/CREB signaling.

Background And Purpose: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major factor underlying the high mortality and morbidity rates in stroke patients. Our previous study found that the combination of Astragalus membranaceus extract and ligustrazine (Ast+Lig) treatment could protect brain tissues against inflammation in rats with thrombolytic cerebral ischemia. Activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) is implicated in brain damage induced by cerebral I/R injury.