Focal cerebral ischemia is associated with ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Hispidulin is a flavonoid compound with a variety of pharmacological properties. The neuroprotective effects of hispidulin have not been fully elucidated. Herein, we demonstrated that pretreatment of animals with hispidulin improved the neurological outcomes and decreased the infarct size and brain edema in the cerebral focal I/R model. Mechanistically, we showed in vivo and in vitro that hispidulin exerted a protective effect against I/R injury by inducing the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway through modulation of AMPK/GSK3β signaling. Taken together, our results suggest that hispidulin may be a useful neuroprotective agent against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.
Keywords: AMPK/GSK3β; Hispidulin; Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury; Nrf2.