Effects of Ilex Pubescens Total Flavonoids on Improving Cerebral Ischemic Tolerence

OBJECTIVE To observe the neuroprotective effects of ilex pubescens total flavonoids(IPTF) on the rats with cerebral ischemic preconditioning(CIP) and the expressions of BDNF， GDNF and VEGF in the cortex and hippocampus CA1 area， to explore the mechanisms of IPTF on improving cerebral ischemic tolerance. METHODS CIP was performed by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion for 10 min in rats. 72 h later， cerebral ischemia reperfusion(I/R) was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) for 2 h. Wistar rats were randomly devided into five groups， Sham group， I/R group， CIP+MCAO group， IPTF high dose group（200 mg/kg） and IPTF low dose group（100 mg/kg）。The behavioral injury was detected by neurologic deficit scores(NDS)， and the infarct areas were detected by TTC staining. The expressions of BDNF， GDNF and VEGF in cortex and hippocampus CA1 area were measured by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS IPTF decreased the neurologic deficit scores and the infarct areas. It also increased the positive area and integral optical density of BDNF， VEGF in cortex and CA1 area of rats with CIP. CONCLUSION The mechanisms of IPTF on improving cerebral ischemic tolerance may be related with the up-regulation of the endogenous protein BDNF and VEGF.