Influence of borneol or combined with salvianolic acid B and saponins of panax notoginseng on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA in brain tissue of rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion

Objective: To investigate the effects of borneol or combined with salvianolic acid B(SalB) extracted from Radix Salviae Miltorrhizae and saponins of panax notoginseng(PNS) extracted from Radix(Notoginseng) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) mRNA in rats with focal(cerebral) ischemia/reperfusion.Methods: The focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion model of male Wistar rats was(established) by middle cerebral artery occlusion with intraluminal suture method.Rats were randomly divided into four groups: model group,borneol group,salvianolic acid B and saponins of panax notoginseng mixture(SalB/PNS) group and the above mixture with the addition of borneol group.0.5% Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose(CMCNa),borneol,SalB/PNS mixture and the mixture with the addition of borneol were(respectively) administered orally.Normal rats were used for the control.The rats were sacrificed at 24,48 and 72 hours after reperfusion.The expression of VEGF mRNA in the injured brain hemisphere was analyzed with reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction.Results: Borneol orally could induce the expression of VEGF mRNA at 72 hours after reperfusion.Borneol administered orally combined with SalB and PNS could induce the expression of VEGF mRNA at 72 hours after reperfusion.Conclusion: Borneol or combined with SalB and PNS can protect injured brain by inducing VEGF mRNA expression in the brain with ischemia/reperfusion.The effects of inducing the expression of VEGF mRNA are significantly in the repair stage by borneol and in the severely injured stage by borneol combined with SalB and PNS mixture.