OBJECTIVE To study the protective effects of salidroside(Sal) in aged rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and its mechanism of action.METHODS Right middle cerebral artery was occluded by inserting a thread through internal carotid artery for 2h,and then reperfused for 24h in rats.The experiment observed the protective effects of Salidroside on nerve dysfunction,cerebral edema,the range of cerebral infarction in aged rats.The activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD),contents of reduced glutathione(GSH),malondialdehyde(MDA),adenosine 5-triphosphorate(ATP),and lactate acid(LA) in experimental aged rats'brain were measured after focal brain ischemia-reperfusion injury.RESULTS Salidroside which was infected peritoneally at the doses of 40 mg·kg-1,20 mg·kg-1 and 10 mg·kg-1in the condition of 2 h brain ischemia+24 h reperfusion exhibited a remarkable reduction in the extent of behavior disorder(P0.05,P0.01),cerebral edema(P0.05,P0.01) and the range of cerebral infarction(P0.05),meanwhile Sal 40 mg·kg-1 group、Sal 20 mg·kg-1group and Sal 10 mg·kg-1 group had a obviously increase of SOD,GSH and ATP(P0.05,P0.01)and a obviously decrease of MDA and LA in ischemia-reperfusion brain compared with focal brain isehemia-reperfusion injury group in aged rats(P0.05,P0.01).CONCLUSION The present study indicates that salidroside possesses a protective action in aged rats with focal brain ischemia-reperfusion injury by reducing lipid peroxide,scavenging free radicals and improving the energy metabolism.