Objective To investigate the effects of Qi Dan Tong Mai Tablets(QDTMT) and its separate components on apoptosis of neuronal
cells and expression of Bcl-2 protein after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion,and to study the
compatibility of the prescription.Methods The string inserting method was employed to make the model of focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.Rats were divided into sham-operated group,model group,Astragalus group,blood-activating group and QDTMT group.Neuronal apoptosis in rats' brain tissue of each group was analyzed by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL).Expression of Bcl-2 protein was measured by immuno-histochemical method.Results Compared with those in sham-operated group,the apoptosis of neuronal cells and expression of Bcl-2 protein increased in model group(P<0.01).Compared with those in model group,the apoptosis of neuronal cells in Astragalus group,blood-activating group and QDTMT group decreased,while the expression of Bcl-2 protein increased(P<0.01),and QDTMT group had the strongest effects compared with separate
components groups(P<0.01).Conclusions QDTMT and its separate components have significant protective effect which might result from up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 protein and inhibiting neuronal cell apoptosis.Neuroprotective effect of QDTMT is better than that of Astragalus and blood-activation.