Neuroprotective effects of berberine on stroke models in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract	Berberine is an alkaloid derived from herb medicine Coptidis Rhizom. Although there are increasing evidences that berberine exhibits neuroprotective effects against ischemic brain damage, little is known about the mechanism. In this study, we investigated the effect of berberine on ischemic injury in a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. We found that berberine improved neurological outcome and reduced ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced cerebral infarction 48h after MCAO. The protective effect of berberine was confirmed in in vitro study. Berberine protected PC12 cells against oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced injury. The results showed that berberine inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and subsequent release of pro-apoptotic factor cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factors (AIFs) evoked by OGD. Findings of this study suggest that berberine protects against ischemic brain injury by decreasing the intracellular ROS level and subsequently inhibiting mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
Authors	Xi-Qiao Zhou, Xiao-Ning Zeng, Hui Kong, Xiu-Lan Sun
Journal	Neuroscience letters (Neurosci Lett) Vol. 447 Issue 1 Pg. 31-6 (Dec 05 2008) ISSN: 0304-3940 [Print] Ireland
PMID	18838103 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
Chemical References	Apoptosis Inducing Factor Neuroprotective Agents AIFM1 protein, mouse Tetrazolium Salts Berberine triphenyltetrazolium Cytochromes c Glucose
Topics	Animals Apoptosis Inducing Factor (metabolism) Berberine (therapeutic use) Brain Infarction (etiology, prevention & control) Cell Hypoxia (drug effects) Cell Survival (drug effects) Cytochromes c (metabolism) Disease Models, Animal Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Glucose (deficiency) Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery (complications, drug therapy) Male Mice Mice, Inbred ICR Neurologic Examination Neuroprotective Agents (therapeutic use) PC12 Cells Rats Reperfusion Tetrazolium Salts

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