Protective Effects of Puerarin on Retinal Ischemic-Reperfusion Injury in Rabbits

Objective:To observe the protective effects of Puerarin on ischemic-reperfusion injury in rabbit retina.Methods:Thirty New Zealand rabbits were randomized into the experiment group to receive puerarin or the ischemic-reperfusion group(control group),15 in each.Retinal ischemia was induced in all rabbits by increasing intraocular pressure to 120mmHg for 60 minutes,followed by reperfusion.The ERG was used to measure the recovery of the a-wave and b-wave amplitudes for the experimental and control groups in different stages of reperfusion(at 12,24 and 72 hrs).Intravitreal puerarin was used in the experiment group 2 hours before retinal ischemia,whereas the control group received equivalent amount of normal saline.Results:The b-wave amplitudes in experimental group were much higher than those in the control group(P0.01).There were no significant differences in a-wave amplitude(P0.05).Conclusions:Puerarin has protective effects against ischemia reperfusion injury in rabbit retina.