The present study was to investigate changes of
free radicals in the whole rat liver, changes of
ATP levels of hepatic cells, ultrastructural changes in hepatic tissue during
ischemia and reperfusion in rats and the effects of
ligustrazine and salvia compound. The results indicated that: 1) the
free radical levels increased by 8.3-fold and 9.0-fold in the groups with 30 and 60 min
ischemia after 40 min reperfusion, as compared with the group with
ischemia only (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, respectively). 2) The levels of
ATP returned to normal in the group with 30 min
ischemia after reperfusion for 40 min and 3 d, remained low in the group with 90 min
ischemia and fell again after a mild increase in the group with 60 min
ischemia. 3) The hepatic and endothelial cell damage after
ischemia became more severe after reperfusion, as revealed by electron microscopy. The present study also showed that
ligustrazine and salvia compound have protective effects against
reperfusion injury. They can be used to scavenge
free radicals, improve hepatic microcirculation and alleviate hepatic and endothelial cell damage.