No abstract

Banana, orange, and apple are the major fruits in Western and Asian diets. In order to find the effects of these fruits, neuron like PC12 cells were exposed to the extracts of these fruits before H 2 O 2 treatment. We found a significant viability of PC12 cells by the MTT reduction test, which indicated that the phenolics of banana, orange, and apple fruits prevented oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity. Additional tests by lactate dehydrogenase and trypan blue exclusion assays showed that the extracts reduced oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell membrane damage. These results suggest that fresh apples, banana, and orange in our daily diet along with other fruits may protect neuron cells against oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity and may play an important role in reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species may be linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Fresh Red Delicious apples, having 232.9 mg/100 g vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity, protected the rat pheochromocytoma neuronal (PC-12) cells from H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative toxicity in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) reduction assay showed significant increase in cell viability when PC-12 cells were treated with apple extracts. This indicates that the apple phenolics protected oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity. Because oxidative stress is also known to increase neuronal cell membrane breakdown, we further investigated by lactate dehydrogenase and trypan blue exclusion assays. Apple phenolics inhibited oxidative stress-induced membrane damage in neuronal cells. Therefore, these results may suggest that naturally occurring antioxidants, such as phenolic phytochemicals in fresh apples, may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disorders.

No abstract