title: Wogonin inhibits excitotoxic and oxidative neuronal damage in primary cultured rat cortical cells.
abstract: The present study evaluated effects of wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) on excitotoxic and oxidative stress-induced neuronal damage in primary cultured rat cortical cells. Wogonin was shown to inhibit the excitotoxicity induced by glutamate or N-methyl-D-aspartic acid, whereas it showed no effects on the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid- or kainate-induced toxicity. In addition, wogonin inhibited the oxidative neuronal damage induced by H(2)O(2), xanthine/xanthine oxidase, and by a glutathione depleting agent D,L-buthionine [S,R]-sulfoximine. Furthermore, wogonin dramatically inhibited lipid peroxidation initiated by Fe(2+) and L-ascorbic acid in rat brain homogenates. It also exhibited 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that wogonin exhibits neuroprotective actions in cultured cortical cells by inhibiting excitotoxicity and various types of oxidative stress-induced damage, and that its antioxidant actions with radical scavenging activity may contribute, at least in part, to the neuroprotective effects.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk 780-714, South Korea. jscho@mail.dongguk.ac.kr
authors.forename: Jungsook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hyeong-Kyu
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D044950:Flavanones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000633:toxicity; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D044950:Flavanones; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; C085514:wogonin