Effect of ginkgo biloba extract on recovery after facial nerve crush injury in the rat

Background and objective: Many pharmacological agents have shown successful results in experimental crush injury of the peripheral nerve. To date, therapeutic effect of ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on the peripheral nerve crush injury of rats has been rarely reported, moreover, neuroprotective effect on the facial nerve crush injury has not been reported. Materials and methods: Prospective functional recovery, using a vibrissae movement and electrophysiological analysis of recovery 4 weeks after the facial nerve crush in adult rats, and comparison with randomized intraperitoneal injection of either GBE or control phosphate buffered saline. Results: Relative to the control group (26 days post operation), administration of GBE significantly accelerated the recovery of vibrissae orientation to 11.7 days post the operation. A significant functional recovery was observed by postoperative 2nd week in the experimental group. The recovery of threshold and conduction velocity, postoperative 4th week in the experimental group, showed statistically significant difference compared to that of the control group. Conclusion: From this result, intraperitoneal injection of GBE has been found effective in promoting the regeneration of the nerve in an experimental facial nerve crush rat model. Further studies, including morphological and molecular analyses, are necessary to clarify the mechanisms of GBE on the facial nerve crush. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.