Original Article Ligustilide treatment promotes functional recovery in a rat model of spinal cord injury via preventing ROS production

Ligustilide from traditional Chinese medicine extract, angelica sinensis is one of the main active com- ponents, and has many pharmacological activities related to the effectiveness. This study sought to determine whether neuro-protection of ligustilide promotes functional recovery in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI) via pre- venting ROS production. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were induced using operation for model SCI. Furthermore, Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) scale and footprint analysis of gait was used to assess the neuro-protection of ligustilide on SCI. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (iROS), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), interleukin-1β (IL- 1β) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production levels were measured by monoclonal enzyme immunoassay kit. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression, activator protein-1 (AP-1) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) protein expressions were detected using Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and western blot analyses, respectively. Interestingly, treatment with ligustilide significantly increased BBB scale and reduced recovery of coordination in SCI rats. After SCI, the iROS, PGE(2), IL-1β, TNF-α production levels and iNOS gene expression were significantly suppressed in SCI rats. These results suggest that the neuro-protection of ligustilide promotes functional recovery in a rat model of spinal cord injury via preventing ROS production.