Effect of embelin in middle cerebral artery occlusioninduced focal cerebral ischemia in rats

Abstract

Roshni Satishkumar Patel, Priyanshee Gohil

Objective: Cerebral ischemia induced by stroke is one of the major causes of death and disability in the world and reactive oxygen species play key role in pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia. Chemical structure of embelin is similar to antioxidant çoenzyme Q10 and embelin is reported to have potent antioxidant activity. Therefore, the present investigation is carried out to study the effect of embelin using the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced focal cerebral ischemia model. Methods: Male Wistar rats were treated with embelin (50, 75 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) for 20 days, followed by MCAO-induced focal cerebral ischemia. Measurement of neurological score, infarct size and malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in brain homogenates were carried out at the end of study. Results: Embelin decreases MDA level whereas increases SOD and CAT level as compared to ischemic control group. Moreover, embelin decreases infarct size, but there was no improvement in neurological score. Conclusion: Pretreatment of embelin enhances the antioxidant defense and thereby ameliorates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion induced injury in the rat MCAO model.