Neuroprotective Effects of Hesperidin on Cerebral Vasospasm Following Experimental Subarachnoid Haemorrhage in Rats: Biochemical, Pathological and Histomorphometric Analysis.

We examined the protective effects of hesperidin on cerebral vasospasm by establishing an experimental rat model of subarachnoid haemorrhage and performing biochemical, pathological and histomorphometric analysis on these data. Forty albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups of n = 8 in each: Group (G)1, no experimental interventions; G2, subjected to subarachnoid haemorrhage; G3, subjected to subarachnoid haemorrhage and administered saline (100 mg/kg); G4, subjected to subarachnoid haemorrhage and treated with low dose hesperidin (50 mg/kg); G5, subjected to subarachnoid haemorrhage and treated with high dose hesperidin (100 mg/kg). Subarachnoid haemorrhage was created by injecting 0.15 cc of autologous blood taken from the rat-tail artery and injected into the cisterna magna from the craniocervical junction. Drugs were administered intraperitoneally as twice daily doses for 48 h. Rats were sacrificed at the end of this period. No statistically significant decrease was observed in malondialdehyde levels, which is the end-product of lipid peroxidation, among the drug groups (G4 and G5). Thin sections prepared from the basilar artery were examined morphologically. Severe luminal narrowing and vessel-wall thickening were observed in the subarachnoid-haemorrhage groups (G2, G3). In the hesperidin-administered groups (G4, G5), it was determined that vessel-wall-thickness measurements revealed thinner walls than in the subarachnoid-haemorrhage groups (G2, G3) and the luminal diameters were significantly larger than in the subarachnoid-haemorrhage groups (G2, G3). These findings suggest that hesperidin has no effect on malondialdehyde-associated lipid-peroxidation activity; however, it might be useful in subarachnoid-haemorrhage therapy because of its beneficial effects on vessel-wall thickness and luminal diameters.