The effect of edible oil from Portulaca oleracea seeds on the blood-brain barrier permeability in rat

After cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, stroke is considered as the four major death reasons in general population. Due to the important role of Portulaca oleracea in reducing the inflammatory damages and its protective effect on hypoxic nervous tissue, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the intake of Portulaca oleracea oil and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in a rat stroke model.
In this experimental study, male Wistar rats (n=35) were randomly allocated into 5 equal groups: Control (distilled water談ⅺ梚); three Experimental groups (Portulaca Oil at doses of 50, 75 and 100 mg/kg談ⅺ梚) and Sham group (no treatment and ischemia). Pretreatment with Portulaca Oil was performed for 30 days, orally through gavage. In each of the groups blood-brain barrier permeability was studied using the Evans-Blue concentration.
Compared to the Control, the permeability of BBB was decreased only in Experimental groups with 0.50 and 0.75 mg/kg doses. However, the Experimental group with a dose of 0.25 did not reveal any significant difference compared to Control.
Based on the results of this study, as a precautionary measure for stroke the administration of Portulaca oleracea oil can reduce the BBB permeability.