Biol. Pharm. Bull. 30(2) 309—312 (2007)

ability throughout the world. More than 80% of all strokes are a result of cerebral ischemia. Approximately 20% of stroke patients do not survive the first month and less than 30% of those who survive the first six months would become dependent on others. In correlation with the socio-economic importance of ischemic stroke, neuroprotective agents with different modes of action and an extended application time window are therefore urgently required in clinic. Radix of Angelica sinensis, known as Danggui in Chinese, has been used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) for a long time. Numerous studies indicate that the effective constituents of Danggui are classified into water soluble part and essential oil. And the former including ferulic acid and polysaccharides is widely used in clinic, while the effective substance basis of the essential oil is not completely clear. Recently, Z-Ligustilide (LIG, Fig. 1), the main lipophilic component of Danggui, was isolated and purified from the essential oil in our lab. Our previous studies showed that LIG significantly prevented transient ischemic brain damage. The oral administration of LIG (20, or 80 mg/kg), at 0 and 4 h again after reperfusion following 2 h ischemia, significantly reduced infarct volumes and improved neurological scores in transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion rats. In addition, LIG (5, or 20 mg/kg, i.p.) could also remarkably reduce the infarct volume in the transient forebrain ischemic mice in a dose-dependent manner. It is reported that the cerebral ischemia due to lasting vascular blockage plays a more important role in clinical ischemic stroke. In order to further investigate the protection of LIG on focal brain ischemia, the present study therefore evaluated its effect in rat permanent MCA occlusion model. The effect of LIG on infarct volumes, edema, neurological scores and body temperature was assessed in this study.