title: Allixin, a phytoalexin produced by garlic, and its analogues as novel exogenous substances with neurotrophic activity.
abstract: Effects of allixin, a phytoalexin of garlic, and its analogues were studied on the survival and morphology of primary cultured neurons from fetal rat brain. Addition of allixin (1-100 ng/ml) to medium significantly promoted the survival of neurons derived from various regions of brain and increased the number of branching points per axon in hippocampal neurons. Allixin, however, was cytotoxic at higher concentrations (>1 microg/ml). Among the analogues of allixin, 2,6-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one (DHP) possessed potent neurotrophic activity at concentrations over 10 ng/ml without any obvious cytotoxicity up to 10 microg/ml. DHP also retained the activity to promote axonal branching. These results indicate that DHP is a novel exogenous low molecular weight neurotrophic substance without apparent cytotoxicity. This compound may be a useful prototype leading chemical for developing therapeutic and/or prophylactic drugs for neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moriguchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itakura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katsuki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishiyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000276:immunology; D005737:Garlic / Q000737:chemistry*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011753:Pyrones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003470:Culture Media; D011753:Pyrones; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; C070727:allixin