Abstract
Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome (ATR; the dried rhizome of Acori tatarinowii Schott) is a well-known herb being used for mental disorder in China and Asia. Volatile oil is considered as the active ingredient of ATR, and asarones account for more than 90% of total volatile oil. Here, the protective effects of ATR oil and asarones, both α-asarone and β-asarone, were probed in cultured rat astrocytes. The cyto-protective effect of ATR oil and asarones against tBHP-induced astrocyte injury was revealed, and additionally ATR oil and asarones reduced the tBHP-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. In parallel, the activity of anti-oxidant response element (ARE) promoter construct (pARE-Luc), being transfected in cultured astrocytes, was markedly induced by application of ATR oil and asarones. The mRNAs encoding anti-oxidant enzymes, e.g. glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutamate-cysteine ligase modulatory subunit (GCLM), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) were induced by ATR oil and asarones in a dose-dependent manner. The ATR oil/asarone-induced gene expression could be mediated by Akt phosphorylation; because the applied LY294002, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor, fully abolished the induction. These results demonstrated that α-asarone and β-asarone could account, at least partly, the function of ATR being a Chinese medicinal herb.
Highlights
The pathogenesis of neurological disorders is still not clearly identified, and oxidative stress in neuronal cell has been proposed to play roles in disease processes [1,2]
The morphological changes of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP)-treated cultured astrocytes were revealed under light microscope
The tBHP-induced cell mortality in cultured astrocytes was markedly reduced by the pre-treatment of α-asarone, β-asarone or Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome (ATR) oil in a dose-dependent manner (Fig 1B)
Summary
The pathogenesis of neurological disorders is still not clearly identified, and oxidative stress in neuronal cell has been proposed to play roles in disease processes [1,2]. The oxidative stress status of cell and tissue could be altered by exposure to oxidants. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is generated under oxidative stress, and the excess generation of ROS can damage cells [3]. Several lines of evidence revealed that Akt phosphorylation activated nuclear factor-. Asarone prevents oxidative stress-induced cell injury in cultured astrocytes. JCYJ20160229205812004 to Dr Dong and JCYJ20160229210027564 to Dr Wang. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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