Anti - Inflammatory Effects of Tianma Gouteng Decoction Granule on Cerebral Ischemic Injury in Rats

Stroke is one of the leading causes of long - term disability and death around the world. Although enormous efforts have been made to investigate the pathogenesis of stroke and explore new therapeutic strategy, improving the prognosis of patients with stroke remains an unmet medical need. The beneficial effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as an add - on to thrombolytic therapy are getting more attention. Here, we describe the therapeutic effects of a granule product of a classic TCM, Tianma Gouteng decoction (TM granule), in a transient cerebral ischemia rat model. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 90 min followed by reperfusion for 24 h (ischemia/reperfusion; I/R) were performed in adult male Sprague - Dawley rats. Post - stroke treatment with TM granule ameliorated I/R - induced cerebral infarct and restored stroke - affected neurobehavioral defects. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the expression of proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin - 6 (IL - 6) was increased in the cerebral cortex of I/R rats but the effect was reduced by TM granule treatment. Enzyme - linked immunosorbent assay further revealed that the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokine, IL - 6 and tumor necrosis factor - ? (TNF - ?), in I/R rats was attenuated by TM granule administrations and the treatment significantly increased the level of an anti - inflammatory cytokine, transforming growth factor - ? (TGF - ?) in a dose - dependent manner. These results provide an evidence that TM granule represents an add - on treatment for stroke treatment and the neuroprotective effects are associated with its anti - inflammatory actions.