OBJECTIVETo study the the protective effects and mechanism of Shenfu injection on the global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of rats.

METHODSDivided 40 SD male rats into 4 groups randomly (n = 10): sham operation group, model control group, nimodipine group( 30 mg/kg) and Shenfu injection group (10 mg/kg). Made global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model (CI/R) by adopting Pulsinelli's Four Arterial Acclusion method,and then practised administration three times, respectively one day before the surgery, one hour before the surgery and 30 minutes before reperfusion. Finally, measured the contents of brain tissue glutamate (Glu), aspartic acid (Asp) and Glycine (Gly) by means of High Performance Liquid Chromatography, the content of Ca2+ by means of Atomic absorption spectrophotometry, the brain water content by means of wet and dry weight, the activity of brain tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD) and content of malondialdehyde (MDA) by means of chemical colorimetry.

RESULTSCompared with the sham operation group, the contents of Glu, Ca2+, MDA and water in the brains of CI/R model group rats increased remarkably (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), while the activity of SOD decreased apparently (P < 0.05); Shenfu injection could significantly decrease the contents of Glu, Ca2+ and water (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) in brain tissue and remarkably increased the activity if SOD and the ration of SOD/MDA (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe mechanism of Shenfu injection preventing cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury is relevant to excitatory amino acid toxicity reduction, Ca2+ overload blockage and antioxidant capacity improvement.