Effect of Dietary Kaempferia parviflora on Ischemic Brain Injury in the rat

Problem statement: Stroke often causes irreversible neuronal damage and related behavioral deficits. The lack of effective and widely applicable pharmacological treatments for ischemic stroke patients may explain a growing interest in traditional plant medicines. We investigated the ability of consuming Kaempferia parviflora extract, a Thai medicinal plant reputed for neuroprotective effects against brain damage, reduced infarct volume and improve neurological outcome in rats with permanent right Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO). Approach: Male adult Wistar rats were administrated an alcoholic extract of KP orally once daily at a period of 14 days before and 7 days after MCAO. Neurological function assessment was performed at 7 days after MCAO using the 6-points postural reflex test. The brain infarct volume and the densities of survival neurons in hippocampus were also determined at the end of experiment. Results: Oral administration with KP at a dose of 200 mg kg^-1 BW significantly improved the neurological behavior performances and reduced the infarct volume when compared to the vehicle treated group. The reductions of survival neurons densities were also mitigated. Conclusion: The consumption of KP extract may have the possibility of protective effect against neurological disorders such as brain ischemia, while further investigations about precise underlying the defense mechanism against cerebral ischemia are still required.