TianmaGouteng yin attenuates ischemic stroke-induced brain injury by inhibiting the AGE/RAGE pathway

Background: Ischemic stroke is characterized by permanent or transient obstruction of blood flow, leading to a growing risk factor and health burden. Tianmagouteng yin (TMG) is commonly used in Chinese medicine to treat cerebral ischemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of TMG against ischemic stroke. Methods: Either permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) or sham operation was performed on anesthetized Wistar male rats (n = 36). Results: Results demonstrated that TMG administration reduced the infarction volume and mitigated the neurobehavioral deficits. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and Prussian blue staining revealed that TMG attenuated tissue disruption and microbleeds in hippocampus tissues. In addition, TMG down-regulated the receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and p-JAK2. It also inhibited the concentrations of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), ferritin, malondialdehyde (MDA), and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Conclusion: As repetitive clinical trials of neuroprotectants targeting stroke have failed previously, our results suggested that the natural product, TMG, can probably help in the vicious cycles of ischemic stroke pathology.