In a previous short-term study,
salvianolic acid B was reported to have a protective effect on
cerebral ischemia. Here, we investigated whether
salvianolic acid B improves the recovery of motor function after
cerebral ischemia in a 14-day investigation.
Cerebral ischemia was induced by
middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. Motor function was evaluated with beam-walking performance. Neural cell injury in both the sensorimotor cortex and CA1 of the hippocampus ipsilateral to
ischemia was studied by Nissl
stain with
methylene blue. The integrity of cerebral microvessels was monitored by
immunoglobulin extravasations. Neurogenesis in the subgranular zone in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus was detected with 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation. Animals receiving
salvianolic acid B at a dose of 10 mg/kg had a more rapid recovery of beam-walking performance than vehicle-treated
ischemia animals, and the improvement became significant
at 10 and 14 days after
ischemia (P<0.05). Treatment with
salvianolic acid B at a dose of 10 mg/kg also significantly prevented neural cell loss in CA1 of the hippocampus. Neural cells in the sensorimotor cortex were also preserved in animals that received
salvianolic acid B at a high dose of 10 mg/kg.
Salvianolic acid B (10 mg/kg) also improved the integrity of microvessels after
ischemia. We observed a slight increase in 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine-positive cells in the subgranular zone of the hippocampus in the animals treated with
salvianolic acid B at a dose of 10 mg/kg. These data indicate that
salvianolic acid B could improve the recovery of motor function after
cerebral ischemia in rats.