Ursolic acid reduces oxidative stress to alleviate early brain injury following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Abstract

Ursolic acid (UA), a well-known anti-oxidative reagent, has been reported to protect the brain against ischemic stoke. However, the potential role of UA in protecting against early brain injury (EBI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains unclear. The present study aimed to examine the effect of UA against EBI following SAH, and to demonstrate whether the effect is associated with its powerful antioxidant property. Male SD rats were divided into vehicle-treated sham, vehicle-treated SAH, and UA-treated SAH groups. The endovascular puncture model was used to induce SAH and all the rats were subsequently sacrificed at 48h after SAH. The results show that UA administration could significantly attenuate EBI (including brain edema, blood-brain barrier disruption, neural cell apoptosis, and neurological deficient) after SAH in rats and up-regulate the antioxidative levels in the rat cerebral cortex, suggesting that administration of UA in experimental SAH rats could alleviate brain injury symptom, potentially through its powerful antioxidant property. Hence, we concluded that UA might be a novel therapeutic agent for EBI following SAH.

• Authors: Tingting Zhang, Jingyuan Su, Kaiwen Wang, Tingzhun Zhu, Xiaoming Li
• Journal: Neuroscience letters (Neurosci Lett) Vol. 579 Pg. 12-7 (Sep 05 2014) ISSN: 1872-7972 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 25026072 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antioxidants
• Neuroprotective Agents
• Triterpenes
• Caspase 3
• Caspase 9

Topics

• Animals
• Antioxidants (therapeutic use)
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Blood-Brain Barrier (drug effects)
• Body Water (metabolism)
• Brain Diseases (drug therapy, etiology)
• Brain Edema (pathology)
• Caspase 3 (biosynthesis)
• Caspase 9 (biosynthesis)
• Lipid Peroxidation (drug effects)
• Male
• Neuroprotective Agents (therapeutic use)
• Oxidative Stress (drug effects)
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Traumatic (complications)
• Triterpenes (therapeutic use)
• Vasospasm, Intracranial (drug therapy)
• Ursolic Acid