title: Neuroprotection by Brazilian Green Propolis against In vitro and In vivo Ischemic Neuronal Damage.
abstract: We examined whether Brazilian green propolis, a widely used folk medicine, has a neuroprotective function in vitro and/or in vivo. In vitro, propolis significantly inhibited neurotoxicity induced in neuronally differentiated PC12 cell cultures by either 24 h hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) exposure or 48 h serum deprivation. Regarding the possible underlying mechanism, propolis protected against oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation) in mouse forebrain homogenates and scavenged free radicals [induced by diphenyl-p-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). In mice in vivo, propolis [30 or 100 mg/kg; intraperitoneally administered four times (at 2 days, 1 day and 60 min before, and at 4 h after induction of focal cerebral ischemia by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion)] reduced brain infarction at 24 h after the occlusion. Thus, a propolis-induced inhibition of oxidative stress may be partly responsible for its neuroprotective function against in vitro cell death and in vivo focal cerebral ischemia.
authors.forename: Masamitsu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimazawa
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chikamatsu
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morimoto
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishima
authors.forename: Hiroichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hara