Background and Aims: Paeoniflorin, a component of Paeonia lactiflora Pall., has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate effect of paeoniflorin on cerebral infarct in Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods：An animal model of cerebral infarct was established by occluding the both common carotid arteries and the right middle cerebral artery for 90 min, followed by reperfusion of 24 hrs. The ratios of cerebral infarction area and neuro-deficit score were used as an index for effect of paeoniflorin on cerebral infarct. Superoxide anion was determined by the number of lucigenin-Chemiluminesence (CL) counts before and 90 min after occluding the blood flow, and 2 hrs after reperfusion, respectively. In addition, the blood sugar levels were measured 24 hrs after reperfusion. Results：paeoniflorin pretreatment reduced cerebral infarction area and neurological deficit, whereas paeoniflorin posttreatment reduced cerebral infarction area only. Paeoniflorin did not change lucigenin CL counts and did not change blood sugar levels. Conclusions: Paeoniflorin is potential drugs to treat the cerebral infarct in humans. Whether or not the effect of Paeoniflorin is related to superoxide anion and blood sugar will to be investigated in a future study.?
