Objective:To study the effect of edaravone on contents of SOD,MDA and the expression of BDNF(brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in cerebral cortex after MCAO/R(middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion) injury and its possible mechanisms in rats. Methods:A total of 72 healthy male rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group(n = 24), control group(n = 24) and edaravone treated group(n = 24). Each group was further divided into 6 h,12 h,24 h and 48 h subgroups. The levels of SOD and MDA on each subgroup were examined. RT-PCR and Western-blot were used to detect the expression of BDNF mRNA and protein, respectively. Results:The contents of MDA and SOD were statistically significantly different between edaravone treated group and control group(P < 0.05). The expression of BDNF mRNA was statistically significantly different between edaravone therapy group and control group, so was the expression of BDMF protein levels. Conclusion:Edaravone is a potent scavenger of free radicals. Edaravone increased the expression of BDNF after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, which would play a new role in its neuroprotection.