Objective  To investigate the protective effect of resveratrol (Res) on cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury and its possible mechanism.   Methods  A total of 76 SD rats were randomized into 4 groups

that is

sham-operation group

I/R group

low dose of Res (15 mg/kg

I/R﹢R1 group) and high dose of Res (30 mg/kg

I/R﹢R2 group). Res at corresponding dose was injected to the rats peritoneally once per day for 7 d. And then middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in rats was established by intraluminal thread block for 2 h and reperfusion thereafter. After 24 hours’ reperfusion

the content of MDA in the serum and brain tissue was determined with chemical colorimetry. 2

3

5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining was used to measure infarct area of brain tissue

and RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were employed the expressions of Nrf2 and HO-1 at mRNA and protein levels. Pathological changes of brain tissue was observed with HE staining.   Results  Res reduced the infarct areas by (30.53±1.45)% in I/R+R1 group and (20.27±2.11)% in I/R+R2 group when compared with I/R group [(42.67±2.51)%

P0.01]

decreased the contents of MDA in the serum (4.03±0.08 and 2.68±0.27 vs 9.29±0.42 nmol/ml

P0.01) and brain tissue (1.19±0.07 and 0.85±0.03 vs 1.40±0.02 nmol/mg

P0.01)

significantly increased the protein and mRNA expression of both Nrf2 and HO-1 (P0.05)，and improved the pathological changes in brain tissue.   Conclusion  Res exerts protective effect on cerebral I/R injury in rats. The mechanism may imply the activation of Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway and thus enhance expression of antioxidant HO-1.