Rats were randomly assigned to six groups: (1) the sham group, (2) the middle cerebral artery ischaemia-occlusion-reperfusion (MCAO/R) group, (3) the AST IV group, (4) the PNS group, (5) the combination group and (6) the combination + brusatol group. One hundred rats were used in the experiment, of which 9 died during surgery, 10 died of intracranial haemorrhage and brain injury and 63 rats were successfully modelled, for a final success rate of 76.8%. Each group included 9 rats. Behavioural testing was performed on 5 animals in each group. After behavioural testing, 3 rats were used for TTC staining and 6 were used for kit detection and western blot analysis. Existing studies have revealed the toxicological effects of the compatibility of astragalus and P. notoginseng. The dosage and method of AST IV (28 mg/kg) and PNS (80 mg/kg) alone or in combination have been previously determined and were administered intragastrically for three consecutive days (10 ml/kg each time), and the optimal administration times were 50, 26 and 2 h before model establishment.Brusatol (1 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally for 1 h prior to modelling. The sham group and the MCAO/R group were given the same amount of saline.