Protective Effects And Mechanism Of Asiatic Acid On Traumatic Brain Injury

BackgroundTraumatic brain injury is the trauma in brain caused by a series of damage which is always the instant damage such as blow.And it can cause a series of other injury in a few minutes or a few days,such as intracranial hypertension,changes in the blood flow in the brain,the prognosis and the life quality of the patients.Therefore,how to reduce intracranial pressure and cerebral edema has become an important part of the process in rescuing patients and improving the prognosis.As a plant in Centella Asiatica,asiatic acid which characterizes by acrid and bitter in taste and cold in nature,has been proved to have effecton clearing heat and eliminating damp,similarities and differences,detoxication,relieving swelling and et.It is often used for curing such as damp jaundice,carbuncle,bruises,infectious hepatitis,skin disease,meningococal meningitis.Its active ingredients are asiaticoside,hydroxy asiaticoside,asiatic acid and hydroxy asiatic acid.It is often used for curing skin injury and chronic ulcer.Along with the deepening study of the Centella Asiatica,its pharmacological activity has been found.Recent studies also showed asiatic acid had the beneficial effects on improving the memory function and protecting the cardiovascular and blood vessel of brain.However,there are few research on asiatic acid on traumatic brain injury.So,we set up three traumatic brain injury models to research the protective effects and mechanism of asiatic acid on traumatic brain injury.MethodsThe weight-drop method is adopted to establish the closed craniocerebral injury model in rats and mice.And use fluid percussion to establish traumatic brain injury model in rats.Through the moisture content determination of rats,blood brain barrier permeability by EB method,brain tissue pathology morphology by optical microscope and transmission electron microscopy,we can observe asiatic acid back to craniocerebral injury edema,blood brain barrier permeability and brain tissue pathological morphology and research AA protection of craniocerebral injury.Moreover,the inflammatory cytokines TNF-??IL-??IL-6 were examined by PCR and ELISA in the rats which subjected traumatic brain injury.Results1.As the experimental results shown,compared with model group,AA can significantly reduce the traumatic brain injury in rats and mice brain tissue water content and permeability of blood brain barrier in three traumatic brain injury models(P < 0.01,P < 0.05).2.The optical microscope results showed that the AA could relieve traumatic brain injury in rats and mice brain tissue hyperemia,edema,vasodilation and inflammatory cells infiltration.3.The electron microscopy results showed that the AA rats could reduce traumatic brain injury and cerebrovascular cavity red blood obstruction,neurons in the nucleus chromatin gathered,expansion of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria swelling.4.AA reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines TNF-??IL-??IL-6 at mRNA and protein levels in the rats traumatic brain injury model.Conclusion1.AA has the protective effects on traumatic brain injury,2.AA may reduce brain tissue damage by inhibiting inflammatory response.