Objective: To investigate the effect of Naoxintong (NXT) on
complement 3
expression of focal cerebral ischemia (FCI) in rats.
Methods: The FCI model with thread embolism of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats was made. Rats were randomly divided into five groups, sham operation group, normal saline group, high dose
treatment group, middle dose treatment group, low dose treatment group. At the time of 6h, 24h, 48h, 72h and 7d after MCAO, the neurological deficit score (NDS) was assessed; the changes of brain water content were measured; the changes of histopathology were observed by the HE staining method; adopting immunohistochemistry method to detect the changes of complement 3(C3)
expression. Results: The NDS were all increased and the histopathology damnifications were all alleviated in the NXT treatment groups. Brain edema was reduced obviously (P<0.05) and the expression of C3 was decreased obviously (P<0. 05) in the middle group and the high group. Conclusion: The result showed that NXT had significant protective effects by alleviating brain edema and reducing the expression of C3 in the brain in FCI rats.