Inhibition of excitatory amino acid efflux contributes to protective effects of puerarin against cerebral ischemia in rats.

Objective: To investigate whether the protective effects of puerarine (Pur) against cerebral ischemia is associated with depressing the extracellular levels of amino acid transmitters in brain of rats.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 60 min followed by 24 h reperfusion. Pur (50, 100 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered at the onset of MCAO. The infarct rate and edema rate were detected on TTC (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride)-stained coronal sections. The extracellular levels of amino acid transmitters were monitored in striatum of rats with ischemic/reperfusion injury using in vivo microdialysis technique. Furthermore, the protective effects of Pur against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity were detected. Glutamate-induced apoptotic and necrotic cells in hippocampus were estimated by flow cytometric analysis of Annexin-V and PI labeling cells.

Results: Pur (100 mg/kg) significantly decreased infarct size by 31.6% (P<0.05), reduced edema volume (P<0.05), and improved neurological functions (P<0.05) following MCAO. In these rats, the ischemia-induced extracellular levels of aspartate (Asp), glutamate (Glu), y-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and taurine (Tau) were significantly reduced in striatum of vehicle-treated animals by 54.7%, 56.7%, 75.8%, and 68.1% (P<0.01 and P<0.05). Pur reduced the peak values of Glu and Asp more obviously than those of GABA and Tau, and the rate of Glu/GABA during MCAO markedly decreased in Pur-treated MCAO rats, compared with the vehicle-treated MCAO rats. Meanwhile, apoptosis and necrosis induced by Glu in cultured hippocampal neurons were significantly reduced after Pur treatment.

Conclusion: Acute treatment with Pur at the onset of occlusion significantly depresses ischemia-induced efflux of amino acids, especially, excitotoxicity in the striatum, a mechanism underlying the neuroprotective effect on cellular survival.