Protective Effect of Catechin Hydrate on Spinal Cord Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in Rats

Background: Aortic artery stenosis leads to Ischemia-Reperfusion (I-R) injury, which can cause certain clinical expressions, such as paraplegia. Objectives: To appraise the effect of Catechin Hydrate (CH) against spinal cord I-R injury. Materials & Methods: A total of ۳۵ male rats (۲۵۰-۳۰۰ g) were divided randomly into five groups:  intact, sham surgery, dimethyl sulfoxide (I-R+DMSO), low-dose CH (I-R+۱۰ mg/kg CH), and high-dose CH (I-R+۲۰ mg/kg CH). Abdominal aorta clamping was done for ۶۰ min. Seventy-two hours after I-R, animals were evaluated for neurologic function, biochemical analysis, and histology. The data analysis was conducted by SPSS v. ۱۶ using ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: The mean Motor Deficit Index (MDI) score and white matter damage in the CH (۲۰ mg/kg) group were lower than in the DMSO group (P=۰.۰۳۲). The mean plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the CH groups were lower than that of the DMSO group (P<۰.۰۵). The plasma level of Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) in the CH (۲۰ mg/kg) group was higher than in the DMSO group (P=۰.۰۳۲). In addition, the plasma level of catalase in the CH (۲۰ mg/kg) group was higher than in the DMSO and CH (۱۰ mg/kg) groups (P<۰.۰۰۱). The average number of normal motor neurons in the experimental groups was lower than in the sham surgery group (P<۰.۰۰۱).  Conclusion: These results showed that CH may be effective in reducing spinal cord I-R injury.