Calculus Bovis-Fel Uris-Moschus Pharmacopuncture’s Effect on Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Mean Arterial Blood Pressure in Rats

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the effects of Calculus Bovis-Fel Uris-Moschus pharmacopuncture (BUM) on the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and the mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in normal and cerebral ischemic rats and to investigate a possible pathway involved in the effects of BUM. Methods: The changes in the rCBF and the MABP following BUM into Fengfu (GV16) were determined by using a laser-Doppler flow meter and a pressure transducer, respectively. Results: BUM significantly increased the rCBF and decreased the MABP in normal rats in a dose-dependent manner. The effect on the rCBF was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with methylene blue (0.01 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), an inhibitor of guanylate cyclase, but was not affected by pretreatment with indomethacin (1 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase. The BUM-induced decrease of the MABP was changed neither by methylene blue nor by indomethacin pretreatment. In the cerebral ischemic rats, the rCBF was stably increased upon cerebral reperfusion in the BUM group in contrast to the rapid and marked increase in the control group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that BUM into Fengbu (GV16) increased the rCBF in a dose-dependent manner in the normal state; furthermore, it improved the stability of the rCBF in the ischemic state upon reperfusion. Also, the effects of BUM on the rCBF were attenuated by inhibition of guanylate cyclase, suggesting that the effects involved the guanylate cyclase pathway.