PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT FROM THE ROOT OF ARGYREIA SPECIOSA AGAINST GLOBAL CEREBRAL ISCHEMIC REPERFUSION INJURY IN RATS

Cerebral stroke is the principal reason of death without effective treatment in the world and recognized as the common cause of disability. Argyreia speciosa (Linn.f.) (Convolvulaceae, Synonyms: Argyreia nervosa) is widely distributed plant species in India. It is commonly known as Elephant creeper and Vryddhadaru. A. speciosa is a very valuable plant in the Ayurvedic system. In 'Rasayan' drug it has been used for the treatment of various neurological diseases. Its root taste is bitter and having the multiple uses like as a brain tonic, nootropic, anti-anxiety and anticonvulsant activity. The current study, plan to investigate the neuroprotective effect of ethanolic extract of A. speciosa root (ASEE) in a validate rat model of stroke known as global cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury (GCIRI). We divided 36 male Wistar rats to six experimental groups (n= 6). The group-I considered as sham control (no GCIRI), Group-II saline treated GCIRI, Group-III, IV, and V received ASEE (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) for 7 days prior to the induction of GCIRI while Group-VI termed as standard and it received quercetin (20 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min prior induction of GCIRI. GCIRI produced the significant neurological deficit, sensorimotor dysfunction, decrease neurobehavioral parameters, increased cerebral infarction area and brain edema as compared with sham control rats. Seven days of pretreatment with ASEE markedly attenuates all the changes caused by GCIRI to the normal level. Our results proved that ASEE possess the protective effect on GCIRI induced stroke and aforementioned neuroprotection may be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property. Keywords: Brain stroke, BCCAO, Antioxidants, Neuroprotection, Argyreia speciosa