Ginseng pretreatment protects against transient global cerebral ischemia in the rat: Measurement of local cerebral glucose utilization by [C-14]deoxyglucose autoradiography

The effect of ginseng on brain glucose metabolism has been determined in normal and transient cerebral ischemic rat using the autoradiographic [C-14]2-deoxyglucose method. Ginseng had no effect on local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) in normal rat. By contrast, in rats subjected to 30 min of four vessel occlusion, a significant reduction of LCGU was shown in parts of the cortex and striatum in comparison to the control group. One-week administration of ginseng at 200 mg/kg/d before the occlusion produced an improvement of LCGU compared with the untreated group, These findings indicate that ginseng has some protective effects against brain damage in transient global cerebral ischemia.