Objective: To study the effect of Yuxianling granule (YXLG) on the hippocampal nerve growth factor (NGF) and cognitive function in epileptic rats. Method: 150 SD rats were used for the experiment

and 10 of them were randomly selected as the blank control group. The rest animals were treated with pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) to establish the model. The rats consisting with the model standard were divided randomly into 4 groups

including model group

YXLG group

sodium valproate group and lamotrigine group. . Using gavage administration

the drug doses were 810 mg ·kg-1

122 mg ·kg-1

10.1 mg ·kg-1 accordingly. The model group and control group were given the same volume of distilled water daily. All the treatment was 1 times daily

lasted for 28 d. The animals were tested by open field test for measuring changes in cognitive function. Immunohistochemical method was employed to observe the expression of NGF. Result: Compared with the model group

YXLG could increase the opening test results in rats with pentylenetetrazol-induced epilepsy

the difference was statistically significant ( P <0.01). YXLG could enhance the average gray value of NGF-positive cells and reduce the average optical density of NGF-positive cells

the difference was statistically significant ( P <0.01). Conclusion: The reason that YXLG improves the cognitive function of the epileptic rats may be related with the reduced expression of NGF in epileptic rats.