Allicin attenuates global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in gerbils via anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic pathway

Objective: Allicin, the main component which is responsible for the biological activities of garlic, exerts a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities and is regarded as a potential drug in clinical therapy. However, the mechanisms of involvement of allicin in cerebral impairment induced by global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) remain unclear. Therefore, here, we explored the effects of allicin on global cerebral I/R injury in gerbils. Methods: 45 gerbils were divided into 5 groups and treated with sham operation or transient global cerebral I/R for 7 min and then intragastric treated with allicin (20, 40, 80 mg/kg) or with corn oil for 7 days. The neurologic deficit score was assessed for neurological symptoms after global cerebral I/R. Levels of oxidative stress biomarkers were measured to evaluate the oxidative stress injury of hippocampal neurons. Western blot and Nissl staining were performed to assess the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons and test the expression of ERK-1/2 to investigate signal mechanism. Results: Treatment with 40 and 80 mg/kg allicin resulted in a significant decrease of deficit score in comparison to model group. 80 mg/kg allicin obviously elevated activities of SOD, reduced the level of MDA and attenuated apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in gerbils with I/R injury. In addition, 80 mg/kg allicin inhibited the I/R-induced reduction of ERK-1/2 phosphorylation level. Conclusion: Our results suggest that allicin alleviates I/R-mediated neuronal impairment by anti-oxidative and anti-apoptosis pathways, which is likely to be related to ERK-1/2 signal pathway.