title: Protective effects of quercetin and vitamin C against oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration.
abstract: Clinical trials of several neurodegenerative diseases have increasingly targeted the evaluation of various antioxidants' effectiveness. The human diet contains several thousand phytochemicals, many of which have significant bioactivities. Vitamin C, a naturally occurring antioxidant, is known to reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Quercetin, one of the major flavonoids in some fruits and vegetables, has much stronger antioxidative and anticarcinogenic activities than vitamin C. Therefore, we investigated the protective effects of quercetin on hydroxy peroxide-induced neurodegeneration. To determine the protective effects, PC12 cells were preincubated with quercetin and vitamin C before H(2)O(2) treatment for 2 h. Results showed that cell viability was clearly improved with quercetin, and quercetin showed a higher protective effect than vitamin C. Because oxidative stress is known to increase neuronal cell membrane breakdown, we further investigated lactate dehydrogenase and trypan blue exclusion assays. We observed that quercetin decreased oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell membrane damage more than vitamin C. These results suggest that quercetin, in addition to many other biological benefits, contributes significantly to the protective effects of neuronal cells from oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity, such as Alzheimer disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA.
authors.forename: Ho Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Chang Yong
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000209:etiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D011794:Quercetin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D011794:Quercetin; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D001205:Ascorbic Acid