3.1. Chemicals and Animals

Schisandrin A (Figure 1; CAS Number: 61281-38-6, molecular formula: C₂₄H₃₂O₆, purity ≥ 98.0%, molecular mass: 416.507 Da) was purchased from Chengdu Institute of Biology (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China). Paraformaldehyde (PFA), 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), isoflurane, and Rose Bengal were purchased from Sigma Aldrich (New York, NY, USA).

Adult male C57/BL6 (6 mice per group), 10 weeks old of mice with weight 22–25 g (Shanghai SLAC Laboratory Animal, Shanghai, China) were used in this study to make sure that the mice are in the adult phase with a high probability of stroke formation. All the obtained animals were kept under standard conditions (temperature: 22 °C, light/dark cycle: 12/12 h) with unlimited access to water and food. Also, standard protocols and ethical approval were applied. This study was approved by the ethical committee for animal experiments of the Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine.