Effects of melatonin on MDA content and SOD activity in the hippocampus of gerbils with cerebral reperfusion injury

Objective To probe into the mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of melatonin (MT) by investigating its effects on malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the hippocampus of gerbils after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion.?Methods Occlusion of bilateral carotid arteries was adopted to prepare gerbil cerebral ischemia-reperfusion models. Different doses of MT were administered ip 30 min prior to the occlusion. After 10 min of ischemia and 1 h of reperfusion, bilateral hippocampi were removed for the study of MDA and SOD.?Results The contents of MDA were markedly elevated and the SOD activities decreased in the hippocampus 1 h after reperfusion. MT could partly reverse the elevation of MDA content and the reduction of SOD activity.?Conclusion MT can reduce the lipid peroxidation by keeping up the activity of SOD in ischemia-reperfusion gerbils, exerting its neuroprotective effect.