Investigation of antioxidant and oxidane effects on brain tissues of Cinnamon Bark Oil in experimental global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion model in rats

Aim: Cinnamon bark oil (CBO), an essential oil of cinnamomum verum's barks, is known to exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities. Few studies have focused on its antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, regulating neuron apoptosis, and neuroprotective effect during cerebral ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. We aimed to investigate these effects of CBO in rat model of I/R induced brain injury. Material and Metod: Forty four Wistar- albino race female rats were divided into four groups; sham rats (n:8) which were administered CBO in 1, 24, 48, and 72 hours after sham operation, rats (n:12) which underwent ischemic surgery, rats (n:12) which were treated with CBO in 72, 48, 24 and 1 hours before ischemic surgery (prophylaxis group), and rats (n:12) which were treated with CBO 1, 24, 48, and 72 hours after ischemic surgery (treatment group). We performed the ischemic surgery by occluding the bilateral common carotid arteries for 15 min and sacrificed the rats 72 hours after the surgery. CBO was administered orally at 100 mg/kg body weight once daily. Brain tissues were isolated for histopathologic examination. Brain tissues were also used for determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD), total glutathione(tGSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant capacity (TOC), malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase(MPO), Interleukin-1(IL-1) and TNF-α levels. Results: We demonstrated significantly decreasing the number dead cortical and hippocampal neuronal cell with immunohistochemical staining method (caspase-3, Bax) both prophylaxis and treatments groups. Additionally, I/R oxidative and inflammatory injury in rat was demonstrated by a significant increase in SOD activities in prophylaxis group, TAC levels in both prophylaxis and treatment groups, and significant decrease in MDA and TNF-α levels in both prophylaxis and treatment groups. Conclusion: The results show that CBO is able to protect the brain against I/R injury probably due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties in both prophylaxis and treatment groups. Key Word: Cerebral ischemia, reperfusion injury, cinnamon bark oil, rat model