Neuroprotective effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on ischemic stroke injury

Program/Poster no. 150.13/K2Poster session: 150.Ischemia: Neuroprotection Animal ModelsObjective: The polysaccharides in Lycium barbarum, a well known traditional Chinese medicine, have been demonstrated to possess multiple biological effects including anti-aging, anti-tumor, cytoprotective, and neuromodulation. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) on brain ischemic injury in a mouse Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) model. Methods: Mice were orally treated with either vehicle (PBS) or LBP (1 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg) for 1 week before induction of brain ischemia by MCAO. After 2 hours of ischemia followed by 22 hours of reperfusion, animals were evaluated for neurological deficits. Immediately after scoring of the neurological deficits, brains were isolated, cut into 6 coronal slices of 2 mm thickness and stained with 2% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) to detect lesion areas. The posterior surface of each brain slice was subsequently photographed and analyzed using a digital image analysis system. Infarct area, volume, and hemispheric brain swelling were calculated using an indirect method in which the effects of edema and brain swelling have been normalized. Results: Neurological deficits were scored as follows: 0, no observable neurological deficits (normal); 1, failure to extend opposite forepaw (mild); 2, circling to the contralateral side (moderate); and 3, loss of walking and righting reflex (severe). Our results showed that mice treated with either 1 mg/kg LBP or 10 mg/kg LBP (n=7 for each group) had less neurological deficits than the vehicle-treated mice (n=8) (vehicle=2.0±0.3, 1 mg/kg LBP=1.4±0.2, 10 mg/kg LBP=1.1±0.1; P