Aim To investigate the apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of nerve cell after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion for 2 hours and intervention of extraction from Piper Kadsura Ohwi. Methods The models of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and reperfusion were set up. The apoptosis and MMP of nerve cell were detected among sham operated group, ischemic group, DMSO-treated (dimethyl sulfoxide) group and extraction from Piper Kadsura Ohwi-treated group in the cerebral tissue around infarction 2 hours after ischemia-reperfusion separately through flow cytometry. Results 2 hours after ischemia-reperfusion, the apoptosis rate of nerve cell of Piper Kadsura Ohwi-treated group (47.0%±3.8%) decreased obviously accompanied with obvious increase of MMP (0.182±0.023) compared with ischemic group (P<0.01). The apoptosis rate of nerve cell (5.8%±1.8%) and MMP (0.331±0.016) of sham operated group were different from those of ischemic group. Conclusion Extraction from Piper Kadsura Ohwi plays a significant role in protecting cerebral tissue through decreasing the apoptosis and stopping decrease of MMP of nerve cell caused by ischemia-reperfusion.