Effects of Hydroxyethylpuerarin on Levels of NO and NOS in Rats with Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of hydroxyethylpuerarin on NO and NOS in rats with focal brain ischemia-reperfusion injury.METHODS Rats were divided into 6 groups randomly: sham-operate group, ischemia-reperfusion group, nimodipine 0.4 mg·kg-1·d-1 group and hydroxyethylpuerarin 30,60,120 mg·kg-1·d-1 groups.Rats were prepared with focal brain ischemic injury by middle cerebral artery occlusion( MCAO), then recovered perfusion by pulling out the suture after 1 h. Rats were treated with medcine at 30 min before and 1, 24 and 36 h after operation.48 h after reperfusion, tissue from the forebrain was homogenized,NO and NOS (including total NOS and iNOS) were determined. RESULTS NO and NOS levels were significantly increased in the brain tissue of ischemia-reperfusion group compared with sham-operale group. While being compared with ischemia-reperfusion group, NO and NOS levels were significantly decreasetl in the three hy-droxyethylpuerarin-treated groups. CONCLUSION Hydroxyethylpuerarin can reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury through decreasing the damages of NO.