Objective:To investigate the effects of Shenfu Injection(参附注射液,SFI) on cerebral metabolism in a porcine model of cardiac arrest(CA).Methods:Thirty Wuzhishan minipigs were randomly assigned to the control group(n=6),epinephrine group(EP group,n=12) and SFI group(n=12).After8 min of untreated ventricular fibrillation(VF),pigs in the EP group or SFI group were administered with either EP(0.02 mg/kg) or SFI(1.0 mL/kg),respectively.After successful resuscitation,cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) levels of glucose,pyruvate,lactate,glutamate and glycerol were measured at 1,6,12 and 24 h after recover from spontaneous circulation(ROSC).In addition,neurologic deficit score(NDS) was calculated at 24 h after ROSC.Surviving pigs were killed at 24 h after ROSC,and the brain tissue was obtained for ultra-microstructure examination.Results:Compared with the EP group,CSF glucose and pyruvate levels were higher(all P<0.01),and lactate levels were lower in the SFI group(P<0.01).Meanwhile,CSF glutamate and glycerol levels in the SFI group were lower in comparison to the EP group(all P<0.05).In addition,SFI decreased NDS at 24 h after ROSC(P<0.01),and alleviated the histopathological damage of the brain.Conclusions:SFI could alleviate brain injury after CA,which may be associated with improving cerebral metabolism. Objective: To investigate the effects of Shenfu Injection (SFI) on cerebral metabolism in a porcine model of cardiac arrest (CA). Methods: Thirty Wuzhishan minipigs were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 6), epinephrine (EP group, n = 12) and SFI group (n = 12). After 8 min of untreated ventricular fibrillation (VF), pigs in the EP group or SFI group were administered with either EP (0.02 mg / kg) or SFI 1.0 mL / kg), respectively. After successful resuscitation, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of glucose, pyruvate, lactate, glutamate and glycerol were measured at 1,6,12 and 24 h after recovering from spontaneous circulation (ROSC) , Neurologic deficit score (NDS) was calculated at 24 h after ROSC. Surviving pigs were killed at 24 h after ROSC, and the brain tissue was obtained for ultra-microstructure examination. Results: Compared with the EP group, CSF glucose and pyruvate levels were higher (all P <0.01), and lactate levels were lower in the SFI group (P <0.01) In addition, SFI decreased NDS at 24 h after ROSC (P <0.01), and alleviated the histopathological damage of the brain. Conclusions: SFI could alleviate brain injury after CA, which may be associated with improving cerebral metabolism.