title: The isoflavones mixture from Trifolium pratense L. protects HCN 1-A neurons from oxidative stress.
abstract: Oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell death has been implicated in different neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's. Using the Alzheimer's disease-associated hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), we investigated the neuroprotective efficacy of a natural mixture of phytoestrogenic isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, biochanin A and formononetin) from Trifolium pratense L. (Red clover) against oxidative stress-induced cell death in human cortical cell line HCN 1-A maintained in culture. Neuronal viability was determined by MTT or trypan blue test and neuronal integrity by morphological analysis.The results obtained indicate that exposure of HCN 1-A cell cultures to hydrogen peroxide resulted in a concentration-dependent decrease in neuron viability. Concentration of H(2)O(2) ranging from 50 to 200 microg/ml were toxic to these cultures. A 24-hour pretreatment with 0.5, 1 and 2 microg/ml isoflavones extract significantly increased cell survival as evidenced by MTT or trypan blue test and significantly prevented the morphological disruption caused by H(2)O(2) as shown by microscopical inspection, indicating that neurons treated with isoflavones were protected from the cell death induced by H(2)O(2) exposure. These findings imply that the neuroprotective effect of isoflavones extract is partly associated with its antioxidant activity. Further, results of these investigations indicate that although isoflavones extract exert a neuroprotective effect, it do not promoted cortical neuron process outgrowth.
authors.affiliation: Pharmaco-Biological Department, School of Pharmacy, University of Messina, Messina Italy. occhiuto@pharma.unime.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Occhiuto
authors.forename: Dora Rita
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samperi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zangla
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pino
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Pasquale
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Circosta
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D019833:Genistein / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D029921:Trifolium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D007529:Isoflavones; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; C007768:formononetin; C004742:daidzein; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D019833:Genistein; C004541:biochanin A