title: Neuroprotective effect of Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. fruits against glutamate-induced apoptosis in cortical neurons.
abstract: The protective effect of ethanol extract from the fruits of Alpinia oxyphylla on glutamate-induced neuronal apoptosis was examined in primary cultured mouse cortical neurons. After exposure of cortical neurons to 30 microM glutamate for 24 h, cortical neurons exhibited remarkable apoptotic-like death as evidenced by multi-indices including morphological features, cell viability assay, DNA fragmentation on agarose gel and flow cytometric analysis. Co-treatment of the neurons with A. oxyphylla fruits extract (AFEx) (80-200 microg/ml) in the presence of glutamate significantly elevated cell viability, reduced the number of apoptotic cells and decreased the intensity of glutamate-induced DNA fragmentation. These results suggest the neuroprotective potential of A. oxyphylla fruits against glutamate-induced neuronal apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Lingong Road, Dalian 116024, China.
authors.forename: Xinyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Lijia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Yongqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Chuanzhou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D032429:Alpinia / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D018698:Glutamic Acid