Chinese skullcap contains a compound known as baicalin which has protective effects on infective brain edema in rats caused by the injfection of pertussis bacilli - Article 2. - GreenMedInfo Summary

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the inhibitory effect of baicalin on iron-dependent lipid peroxidation (IDLPO) and the protective effect on pertussis bacilli-induced brain edema in rats. METHODS: In vitro, the inhibitory effect of baicalin and deferoxamine (DFX) was studied at different concentrations on IDLPO in brain homogenates of Sprague-Dawley rats. In vivo, the protective effect was studied of baicalin and DFX on brain edema induced by injecting purtussis bacilli into the left internal carotid artery in rats. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups. Group 1 (NS, n = 10), as control; Group 2 (PB, n = 10), pertussis bacilli control; Group 3 (DFX, n = 10), PB + deferoxamine; and Group 4 (BAI, n = 10), PB + baicalin. RESULTS: The baicalin was possessed of an inhibitory effect on IDLPO in rat brain homogenate, moreover, the inhibitory potency of baicalin was approximately 20 times higher than DFX treated alone. In vivo, the increase in the content of water(CW) and Evans blue (EB) was attenuated in groups DFX and BAI (CW: 79.8 +/- 0.7)% and (79.5 +/- 0.6)%; (EB: 11 +/- 7 micrograms/g and 12 +/- 5 micrograms/g) as compared with the group PB (CW: 80.4 +/- 0.9%, EB: 24 +/- 10 micrograms/g). The content of iron was significantly lower than in the left hemispheres (injected side) in the group DFX and the group BAI (79 +/- 9 micrograms/g and 77 +/- 10 micrograms/g) than in the left hemispheres in the group PB(132 +/- 28 micrograms.d-1.g), P<0.05. The activation of CuZn-SOD (L155 +/- 36 U/mg pr, R177 +/- 75 U/mg pr) was decreased in the group BP compared with the group NS(L 201 +/- 49 U/mg pr, R 249 +/- 49 U/mg pr), P<0.05. The activation of CuZn-SOD was significantly higher in the left brain tissues in the groups DFX and BAI (222 +/- 49 U/mg pr and 230 +/- 45 U/mg pr, respectively) than in the left brain tissues of the group of PB (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The baicalin and DFX have a protective effects on the pertussis bacilli-induced brain edema in rats, and the protective effects are related to the inhibitory effect on IDLPO, chelating Fe2+, and activated CuZn-SOD.