Le Thi Xoan^1,*, Nguyen Thi Phuong¹, Nong Thi Thanh Phuong¹,

Pham Thi Nguyet Hang¹, Nguyen Van Tai¹, Nobuyuki Kuramoto²

¹National Institute of Medicinal Materials, Vietnam;

²Setsunan University, Japan

*Corresponding author: xoanle@gmail.com

(Received May, 04^th, 2016)

Summary

Neuroprotective Effect of Panax notoginseng Against Ischemic Neuronal Injury in Mice

The roots of Panax notoginseng (PNG) are widely used in Vietnamese traditional medicine for the treatment of blood disorders, including blood stasis, bleeding and blood deficiency. This study aim to clarify the neuroprotective effects of PNG root ethanol extract on brain injury using middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 60 min in mice. Daily administration of PNG (75-150 mg/kg, p.o) was started 1 week before the operation day. Administration of edaravone (6 mg/kg, i.v), a reference drug, was started immediately after MCAO. PNG treatment dose-dependently reduced infarction in MCAO animals after 24 h reperfusion. Treatment of PNG extract (150 mg/kg) and edaravone (6 mg/kg) improved the recovery of motor function in rotarod test and enhanced spatial working memory in MCAO-subjected mice. These results suggest that PNG treatment has a neuroprotecive effect against ischemic brain injury.

Keywords: Panax notoginseng, Middle cerebral artery occlusion, Ischemia, Neuroprotection.