title: Astragaloside IV for Experimental Focal Cerebral Ischemia: Preclinical Evidence and Possible Mechanisms.
abstract: Astragaloside IV (AST-IV) is a principal component of Radix Astragali seu Hedysari (Huangqi) and exerts potential neuroprotection in experimental ischemic stroke. Here, we systematically assessed the effectiveness and possible mechanisms of AST-IV for experimental acute ischemic stroke. An electronic search in eight databases was conducted from inception to March 2016. The study quality score was evaluated using the CAMARADES. Rev Man 5.0 software was used for data analyses. Thirteen studies with 244 animals were identified. The study quality score of included studies ranged from 3/10 to 8/10. Eleven studies showed significant effects of AST-IV for ameliorating the neurological function score (P< 0.05); seven studies for reducing the infarct volume (P< 0.05); and three or two studies for reducing the brain water content and Evans blue leakage (P< 0.05), respectively, compared with the control. The mechanisms of AST-IV for ischemic stroke are multiple such as antioxidative/nitration stress reaction, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptosis. In conclusion, the findings of present study indicated that AST-IV could improve neurological deficits and infarct volume and reduce the blood-brain barrier permeability in experimental cerebral ischemia despite some methodological flaws. Thus, AST-IV exerted a possible neuroprotective effect during the cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury largely through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptosis properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Lin
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qi-Hui
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Bei
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Li
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Qing
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5286-5696
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017594:Publication Bias; D012503:Saponins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D012503:Saponins; D014315:Triterpenes; C052064:astragaloside A