Effects of spiramine T on antioxidant enzymatic activities and nitric oxide production in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion gerbils.

Spiramine T, an atisine-type diterpene alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herbal medicine Spiraea japonica var. acuta (Rosaceae), was shown to have neuroprotective effects on cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury. In this study, the effects of spiramine T on antioxidant enzymes and nitric oxide production were evaluated in gerbils subjected to global forebrain ischemia (10 min) and reperfusion (5 days). Spiramine T (1.0 and 2.0 mg kg−1 i.p.) markedly reduced the content of lipid peroxide (LPO), increased the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity, and inhibited the increase of nitric oxidase (NOS) activity and nitric oxide production in the cortex during ischemia–reperfusion in gerbils. These results suggested that the neuroprotective effects of spiramine T were related to modulation of endogenous antioxidant enzymatic activities and reduction of the formation of nitric oxide.