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Xiaoshuan Zaizao Wan (XZW) has been used in China to improve hemiplegia, deviation of eye and mouth, and dysphasia due to cerebral thrombosis. To characterize pharmacological actions of XZW, we evaluated its effects on neuronal cell damage induced in primary cultured rat cortical cells by various oxidative insults, glutamate or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), and β-amyloid fragment (Aβ(25- 35)). XZW was found to inhibit the oxidative neuronal damage induced by H2O2, xanthine/xanthine oxidase, or Fe2+/ascorbic acid. It also attenuated the excitotoxic damage induced by glutamate or NMDA. The NMDA-induced neurotoxicity was more effectively inhibited than the glutamate-induced toxicity. In addition, we found that XZW protected neurons against the Aβ(25- 35)-induced toxicity. Moreover, XZW exhibited dramatic inhibition of lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenates and mild 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that XZW exerts neuroprotective effects against oxidative, excitotoxic, or Aβ(25-35)- induced neuronal damage. These findings may provide pharmacological basis for its clinical usage treating the sequelae caused by cerebral thrombosis. Furthermore, XZW may exert beneficial effects on Alzheimer’s disease and other oxidative stress- related neurodegenerative disorders.
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