Studies on the active constituents in radix salviae miltiorrhizae and their protective effects on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury and its mechanism

Background: To extract, purify and identify the active constituents in ethanol extract of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, and to analyze the protective effects of tanshinone IIA on cerebral ischemia‑reperfusion injury in rats. Materials and Methods: Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae was extracted by ultrasonic extraction, effective parts were extracted by extraction method, compounds were isolated by preparative TLC and preparative HPLC, and structures of compounds were identified by 1H NMR and 13C NMR; the effects of tanshinone IIA on cerebral ischemia‑reperfusion injury in rats were determined by establishing rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Results: The experimental data show four compounds were isolated, namely tanshinone IIB, hydroxymethylene tanshinone, salvianolic acid B and 9”’‑methyl lithospermate B. Tanshinone IIA could alleviate the symptoms of neurological deficit in rats, the neurological deficit alleviating effect became more obvious with the increase of dose; tanshinone IIA experimental groups could reduce the cerebral infarction size and brain water content in rats, different concentrations of tanshinone IIA could decrease the SOD content and increase the MDA content in the frontal and parietal cortices of ischemic hemisphere in the ischemia reperfusion group, the differences were statistically significant compared with the ischemia reperfusion group. Conclusion: Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae has the protective effects on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats.