The protective activity of
Shengmai San, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, was studied in
cerebral ischemia-
reperfusion injury in rats.
Shengmai San consists of three herbal components, Panax Ginseng, Ophiopogon Japonicus and Schisandra Chinensis and is routinely being used for treating
coronary heart disease. When
Shengmai San was injected directly into rat duodenum 2h before
cerebral ischemia by bilateral carotid artery occlusion,
thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (
TBARS) formation during reperfusion following
ischemia was almost completely suppressed in the brain. The loss of
glutathione peroxidase activity after the
ischemia-reperfusion was also effectively prevented by the
Shengmai San pre-administration whereas the activity was considerably decreased in the damaged brain. It was found that
Shengmai San also effectively suppressed the
TBARS formation even when it was administered after 45 min reperfusion following
ischemia, indicating that
Shengmai San improves the oxidative damage already established in the brain. Likewise, the decrease of
glutathione peroxidase activity was minimized in the damaged brain by the post-administration of
Shengmai San. On the other hand, none of the
Shengmai San components were active in protecting the
ischemia-reperfusion brain damage when they were independently administered. These experiments suggest the potential of
Shengmai San in both preventive and therapeutic usages for
cerebral ischemia-
reperfusion injury.