Effect of Rhaponticum carthamoides extract on structural and metabolic parameters of erythrocytes in rats with cerebral ischemia.

Cerebral ischemia in rats was accompanied by an increase in erythrocyte degradation, which results from changes in lipid composition of their membranes. The content of lipids and phospholipid fraction (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and phosphatidylserine) decreased, while the relative content of lysophospholipids increased in erythrocyte membranes. The course of treatment with Rhaponticum carthamoides extract (150 mg/kg perorally, 5 days) contributed to an increase in the contents of total lipids and phospholipids (primarily of sphingomyelin and phosphatidylserine) and decrease in the ratio of lysophospholipids in the erythrocyte membrane of rats with cerebral ischemia. Morphological characteristics of erythrocytes returned to normal, which manifested in an increase in the number of discocytes and decrease in the count of degenerated cells.