Effects of puerarin on expression of nuclear factor kappaB after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats

Objective:To investigate the activation of nuclear factor kappaB(NF-κB) and the influence of puerarin on it after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats.Method: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury was induced by 90 min of middle cerebral artery(MCA) occlusion and followed by 2,6,12,24,72 h reperfusion.Puerarin or saline was intra-peritoneally injected 1h before MCA occlusion and then the drugs were administered once every six hours.The infarct volume and brain edema were determined by TTC stain.Level of NF-κB P65 subunit was determined by immunohistochemistry and western blot.Result: Immunohistochemistry revealed the translocation of NF-κB.A time course of NF-κB induction in brain showed that NF-κB P65 subunit obviously increased at 6 h,peaked at 24 h and then decreased by 72 h post-reperfusion.Puerarin decreased the level of NF-κB at 24,72 h after reperfusion.There was a decrease trend in brain infarct volume between puerarin and control.Conclusion: NF-κB is translocated and its level is increased after ischemia-reperfusion.Puerarin may attenuate the ischemia-reperfusion injury through inhibition of NF-κB activation.