carthamus tinctorius l. ameliorates brain injury followed by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats by antioxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms

objective(s): carthamus tinctorius l. (ct) or saffloweris widely used in traditional chinese medicine. this study investigated the effects of ct extract (cte) on ischemia–reperfusion (i/r) brain injury and elucidated the underlying mechanism. materials and methods: the i/r model was conducted by occlusion of both common carotid arteries and right middle cerebral artery for 90 min followed by 24 hr reperfusion in sprague-dawley rats. cte (0.2-0.6 g/kg) was administered intraperitoneally before and during ischemia, and during reperfusion period. the cerebral infarction area, neurological deficit scores, free radicals (lucigenin chemiluminescence counts) and pro-inflammatory cytokines expression were measured. results: pretreatment and treatment with cte significantly reduced the cerebral infarction area and neurological deficits. cte (0.4 g/kg) also reduced blood levels of free radicals and expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β in the cerebral infarction area. conclusion: the reduction in i/r cerebral infarction caused by cte is possibly associated with its antioxidation and anti-inflammatory properties.