Scutellaria flavonoid reduced memory dysfunction and neuronal injury caused by permanent global ischemia in rats

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of flavonoid, isolated from aerial parts of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (SSF), on memory deficits, neuronal degeneration and abnormal energy metabolism induced by permanent global ischemia in rats. The global ischemia was produced in female Sprague–Dawley rats by permanent occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries. The permanent global ischemia in rats resulted in a significantly increased latency of the rat to find the hidden platform and a decreased swimming distance from the target quadrant in the Morris water maze task. The pathological changes in the neurons of ischemic rats, observed in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, included neuron loss, neuron swelling, nuclear shrinkage or disappearance, neuronophagia and reduced density of Nissl bodies in the neuron. Moreover, the levels of lactate and ATPase activity in ischemic rats were notably increased and decreased, respectively, in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex as compared with sham-operated rats. Daily oral administration of SSF (35 mg/kg, 19–20 days) dramatically reduced the decrease in learning and memory, attenuated neuronal injury and improved abnormality of energy metabolites in rats induced by global ischemia. These findings suggest that SSF may be beneficial for the treatment of vascular dementia.