Neuroprotective Effect of Anthocyanin on Experimental Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Objective : We investigated the neuroprotective effect of anthocyanin, oxygen radical scavenger extracted from raspberries, after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats, Methods : The animals were divided into two groups : the vehicle-treated group (control group, n=20) received an oral administration of normal saline via stomach intubation immediately after SCI, and the anthocyanin-treated group (AT group, n=20) received 400 mg/kg of cyanidin 3-O-beta-glucoside (C3G) in the same way. We compared the neurological functions, superoxide expressions and lesion volumes in two groups. Results : At 14 days after SCI, the AT group showed significant improvement of the BBB score by 16.7 +/- 3.4%, platform hang by 40.0 +/- 9.1% and hind foot bar grab by 30.8 +/- 8.4% (p < 0.05 in all outcomes). The degree of superoxide expression, represented by the ratio of red fluorescence intensity, was significantly lower in the AT group (0.98 +/- 0.38) than the control group (1.34 +/- 0.24) (p < 0.05). The lesion volume in lesion periphery was 32.1 +/- 2.4 mu L in the control and 24.5 +/- 2.3 mu L in the AT group, respectively (p < 0.05), and the motor neuron cell number of the anterior horn in lesion periphery was 8.3 +/- 5.1 cells/HPF in the control and 13.4 +/- 6.3 cells/HPF in the AT group, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusion : Anthocyanin seemed to reduce lesion volume and neuronal loss by its antioxidant effect and these resulted in improved functional recovery.