Objectives : The present study has been undertaken to investigate the effects of Dipsaci Radix on Muscle Fiber Atrophy and MyoD Expression in Gastrocnemius of MCAO Rats Methods : In order to investigate effects of Dipsaci radix on the skeletal muscle atrophy following stroke, cerebral infarct was induced by the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in the rats. Water extract of Dipsaci radix (184.4 mg/100 g) was treated for 4 weeks, once a day orally, after the MCAO. Effects were evaluated with muscle fiber type composition and cross-sectioned area of muscle fibers in gastrocnemius of the unaffected & affected hind limbs. And MyoD protein expression in gastrocnemius was demonstrated with immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Results : Obtained results were as follows; 1. Infarct volume was not attenuated by Dipsaci radix treatment in the MCAO rats. 2. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, the increase of type-I fibers and the decrease of type-II fibers were induced by Dipsaci radix treatment. 3. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, decreases of cross-sectioned areas of type-I and type-II fibers were attenuated by Dipsaci radix treatment. 4. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, MyoD positive cells were increased by Dipsaci radix treatment. 5. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, MyoD expressions were increased by Dipsaci radix treatment. Conclusions : These results suggest that Dipsaci radix has a protective effect against muscle atrophy, through the inhibition of the muscle cell apoptosis, following the central nervous system demage.