Effects Of Carthamus Tinctorius L Against Asphyxia Versus The Formation Of NO And MRNA Expression Of NOSs

Objective: To explore the protective effects and their molecular mechanism of Carthamus tinctorius L (Car) against brain damage induced by neonatal asphyxia.Method: (1) 30 minutes after Car 7g/kg weight intraperitoneally was administrated, SD neonatal asphyxia model was set up and used to measure hypoxia endurance caused by Car. After asphyxia for 40 minutes, the neonatal rats were reoxygenated for Oh, 4h, 24h, 48h 72h respectively, and the change of NO content in the brain tissue was detected by nitrate reductase. (2) To observe the effects of Car, the water content of rat brain reflecting brain edema was detected and expressed as the percentage ratio of wet over dry tissue, weight, MDA content measured by Thiobarbituric acid and NO content analyzed after hypoxia-reoxygenation (H-R) 24h, 48h. (3) RT-PCR was used to observe a variance in NOSs mRNA expression, the density of PCR products was determined by image analysis software, normalized to a housekeeping gene -Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH).Result: (1) An increase in neonatal rat's hypoxia endurance was caused by Car, NO content increased significantly for H-R 24h, 48h. (2) Brain water and MDA content went up markedly at H-R 48h, while Car showed remarkable inhibition to an increase in brain water, MDA and NO contents. (3) iNOS andnNOS were up in H-R 48h group while both of them were down significantly in Car groups, but no change were observed on eNOS.Conclusion: Carthamus tinctorius L provides an excellent protection from brain damage induced by neonatal asphyxia, that is attributed to a decrease in lipid peroxidation, and in NO content via inhibition to iNOS and nNOS mRNA expression.