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Cerebrovascular disease is a primary cause of disability in industrialized countries and is the third leading cause of death in North America, Europe, and Asia. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) represents 15 to 20% of all strokes and induces neuronal cell death resulting in severe neurological deficit. Eucommiae cortex is a widely used medicinal herb in Asia, and is commonly used in treatment of hypertension. In the present study, the effect of Eucommiae cortex on ICH-induced neuronal cell death in the striatum and on cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of rats was investigated by using Nissl staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated DUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot analysis, caspase-3 immunohistochemistry, and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry. The present results showed Eucommiae cortex suppressed the ICH-induced lesion size and apoptotic neuronal cell death in the striatum. Hemorrhage-induced increasing of cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus was suppressed by the treatment of Eucommiae cortex. Based on the present results, it is possible that Eucommiae cortex has a neuroprotective effect on ICH-induced neuronal cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]