RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Aged garlic extract (AGE) is a potent antioxidant agent with an established neuroprotective effect in cerebral ischemia. However, the potential protective effect of AGE in spinal cord injury (SCI) is still unknown. METHODS: Spinal cord trauma was applied to 19 adult male Wistar rats using the clip compression method. Animals were divided into three groups. Animals in the AGE group were administered 250 mg/kg per day of AGE diluted in tap water orally by gavage for 15 days prior to trauma. After spinal cord trauma, malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels of the AGE group were compared with the animals in the control and SCI groups. The animals were examined by inclined plane 24 hours (h) after the trauma. At the end of the experiment, spinal cord tissue samples were harvested for pathological evaluation. RESULTS: Regarding tissue MDA and SOD levels after trauma, animals in the AGE group demonstrated decreased MDA levels and increased SOD levels when compared with the SCI group. However, these results were no better than in the control group. The AGE group demonstrated better pathological findings than the SCI group. The result regarding the functional finding was similar. CONCLUSION: AGE demonstrated neuroprotective effects in SCI. Further studies with different experimental settings are required to achieve conclusive results.