OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of Auricularia Auricular polysaccharide (APP) on acute cerebral injury induced by ischemia/reperfusion in rats and its underlying mechanism.

METHODSAdult male SD rats were intragastrically pretreated with AAP at a low (50 mg/kg) or high (100 mg/kg) dose once a day for 20 days before operation. Rats intraperitoneally injected with ginkgo biloba extract (EGb671) were taken as positive control. Focal ischemia was achieved by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) on the right side for 60 min. After 24 hrs of reperfusion, the nerve function defects were recorded by Longa's score and the brain infarct sizes were measured by 2,3,5-Triphenyl-tetrazolium-chlor (TTC) staining. Apoptotic neurons were detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining after 48 h of reperfusion. The levels of oxidative stress was determined via the mitochondria-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS).

RESULTSAAP treatment decreased Longa's score, brain infarct size, apoptotic neurons and mitochondria-generated ROS in a dose-dependent manner. AAP at 100 mg/kg gave a better performance compared with EGb671 on all parameters examined.

CONCLUSIONAAP treatment protected rat brain from focal ischemia/reperfusion injury by its anti-oxidative effect and worked better than EGb671.