Effects of Panax Notoginseng Saponin on the Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor after the Brain Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in Rats

Objective： To observe effects of Panax Notoginseng Saponin （PSN） on the expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor （VEGF） after the brain ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Methods： 48 SD rats had been randomly divided into 4 groups： the sham operation group, the model group, Panax Notoginseng Saponin （PNS） group and Nimodipine group （n=12） . The rats had been treated with PNS, and 7 days later the rat focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion models had been pre- pared. Neurobehavioral scores （NBS） had been evaluated in each group, TTC staining observed; the immunohistochemistry was used to observe VEGF and mRNA expressions. Results： PNS could not only improve significantly neurobehavioral scores and decrease dramatically cerebral infarct volume, but also increase remarkably VEGF and mRNA expression levels. Conclusion： The PNS is beneficial for rehabilitation after cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury via effectively up-regulating the injured cor- tical VEGF mRNA expression concentrations, which promotes vascular reborn in the ischemic region.