CEREBRAL ISCHEMIC-REPERFUSION INJURY AND NEUROPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF HERBAL DRUGS
Bhagat Singh Jaiswal* and Mukul Tailang
Abstract
Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury is one of the leading causes of
human death and disability throughout the world and has attracted
more and more attention in the field of drug discovery. Focal (stroke)
and Global (cardiac arrest) cerebral ischemia represents diseases that
are common in the human population. Stroke and cardiac arrest, which
are major causes of death and disability, affect millions of individuals
around the world and are responsible for the leading health care costs
of all diseases. After cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, the reactive
oxygen species production is dramatically increased and overwhelms
endogenous antioxidant systems, leading to oxidative stress. The brain
is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress injury due to its high consumption of
oxygen, abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids and low levels of endogenous antioxidants.
Antioxidants are significant substances which can protect the body from oxidative damage.
The extensive prescription of synthetic antioxidants is ruled out owing to their toxicity and
unavoidable side effects. There is an increasing interest in the use of natural antioxidants for
prophylaxis or treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases. According to the
pharmacological mechanisms underlying neuroprotection, we evaluated some important
natural drugs from traditional medicinal herb that posses the neuroprotective effects on
cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury.
Keywords: Cerebral ischemia, Oxidative stress, Herbal drugs, Stroke.
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