Protection by the gross saponins of Tribulus terrestris against cerebral ischemic injury in rats involves the NF-κB pathway

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the gross saponins of Tribulus terrestris(GSTT),a traditional Chinese herbal medicine,have neuroprotective effects on rats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO),through nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)pathway and inflammatory mediators.Cerebral ischemia was produced by MCAO in either untreated(control)or GSTT-pretreated rats,and the animals were examined for infarct volume,cerebral edema,neuro-behavioral abnormality and pathological changes.Meanwhile,the expression of NF-kB protein in brain tissue was analyzed on Western blots and the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1 were determined by ELISA.The experimental results demonstrated that,compared with the control MCAO group,GSTT-pretreated MCAO group had significantly reduced infarct volume,brain edema and neuro-behavioral abnormality,and lesser degree of pathologic changes in the brain,as well as had lower levels of serum TNF-α and IL-1β,and higher levels of brain NF-κB(Po0.05).Furthermore,treatment with an NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate(PDTC)abolished the protective effects of GSTT against MCAO-induced cerebral ischemic injury.These results indicated that GSTT’s ability to protect against cerebral ischemic injury was mediated through the NF-κB signaling pathway,and that GSTT may act through inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediators.