Neuroprotective Effect of Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis’ Water Extract on Trimethyltin-Induced Seizures and Hippocampal Neurodegeneration

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether the Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (PB)’ water extract (PBWE) ameliorates trimethyltin (TMT)-induced seizures and hippocampal neurodegeneration. To investigate the potential neuroprotective effect of the PBWE in vitro, a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was conducted in TMT-treated primary cultures of mouse hippocampal neurons. In TMT-treated adult C57BL/6 mice, behavioral and histopathological changes were evaluated by seizure scoring and Fluoro-Jade C staining, respectively. In our in vitro assay, we observed that pretreating mice hippocampal neuron cultures with the PBWE reduced TMT-induced cytotoxicity, as indicated by the decreased LDH release. Furthermore, pretreatment with the PBWE alleviated seizures and hippocampal neurodegeneration in TMT-treated mice. The antioxidant activity of the PBWE increased in a dose-dependent manner; moreover, pretreatment with the PBWE mitigated the TMT-induced Nrf2 stimulation. In addition, six major compounds, including adenine, hypoxanthine, uridine, adenosine, inosine, and benzoic acid, were isolated from the PBWE, and among them, inosine and benzoic acid have been confirmed to have an essential antioxidative activity. In conclusion, the PBWE ameliorated TMT-induced toxicity in hippocampal neurons in both in vitro and in vivo assays, through a potential antioxidative effect. Our findings suggest that the PBWE may have pharmacotherapeutic potential in neurodegenerative diseases such as seizures or epilepsy.

Characterization of Microorganisms from Protaetia brevitarsis Larva Frass

“…The cetoniid beetle Protaetia brevitarsis (PB) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is an easy-to-raise litter-feeding soil insect that can convert decaying plant biomass into frass with a high humic acid (HA) content [1][2][3]. Beyond converting agricultural waste, the mature PB larvae (PBLs) have other beneficial economic effects: (1) the processed mature larva is a traditional medicine that has many benefits for human health [1,[4][5][6][7][8], and (2) the mature larva contains high-quality fat and protein, which can be considered a future feed and food source [9]. Therefore, PB and its application have recently become a meaningful research subject.…”

Effects of larval extracts from identified Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis against benign prostatic hyperplasia induced by testosterone in rats

“…VC, animals receiving corn oil and PBS; BPH, animals receiving TP and PBS; Fin, animals receiving TP and finasteride; BPH + PBE 12.5, 25, and 50, animals receiving TP and PBE at rates of 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg, respectively; PBE, animals receiving only PBE (50 mg/kg). Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD) (n = 6) (Lee et al, 2021). There results indicated that PBE, as antioxidant, may be a therapeutic material for treating BPH.…”

“…These compounds known to have biological activities including antiproliferative and antitumor effects (Dinesh et al., 2012 ). We further investigated that inosine and benzoic acid have significant antioxidative activity in a dose‐dependent manner using our screening system (Lee et al., 2021 ). There results indicated that PBE, as antioxidant, may be a therapeutic material for treating BPH.…”

“…Moreover, to discriminate the species of herbal medicine, Holotrichia was used in this study. We amplified and sequenced COI DNA barcode regions, an universal DNA barcode used for identifying animal species, from randomly selected five larvae and compared the sequence identity with other COI sequences registered in the GenBank using BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) analysis (Che et al., 2012 ; Lee et al., 2021 ). To confirm the sequence identity and species of our samples, furthermore, comparative sequence analysis was carried out between the COI sequences of five samples and other closely related insect species registered in the GenBank including Protaetia brevitarsis (KC775706), P. affinis (KM286290), P. speciosissima (KM286124 and KJ908751), P. lunubris (KM286218, KU908751, and KU916955), P. marmorata (KJ964464), P. cuprea (DQ295301), P. aurichalcea (KM033437), and P. morio (KY827323).…”

Transcriptome analysis demonstrating the therapeutic effect of Tenodera angustipennis (Mantidis Ootheca) extracts on radiation‐induced gonadal toxicity in mouse testis

“…Dried T. angustipennis MO were purchased from the Kwang Myong Dang Co. (Ulsan, Korea) and were morphologically and genetically identified according to a method described in a previous study (Lee et al . 2021b). The samples (Manufacturer No.…”