The Seed Extract of Cassia obtusifolia Offers Neuroprotection to Mouse Hippocampal Cultures

Abstract

Abstract. The precise causative factors in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease remain elusive, but mechanisms implicated comprise excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and in the case of AD, the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ). Current therapeutic strategies for such disorders are very limited; thus, traditional herbal medicines currently receive increased attention. The seeds of Cassia obtisufolia have long been used in traditional eastern medicine and more recently the ethanolic fraction of the seeds (COE) has been shown to attenuate memory impairments in mice. In this study, we set out to determine the effect of COE (range: 0.1 -10 μg / ml) on calcium dysregulation and cell death models in mouse primary hippocampal cultures implicated in general neurodegenerative processes and in the pathogenesis of AD: excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and Aβ toxicity. It was found that treatment with COE attenuated secondary Ca 2+ dysregulation induced by NMDA (700 μM), while a pre-application of COE also reduced NMDA-induced cell death. Furthermore, COE was neuroprotective against the mitochondrial toxin 3-NP (1 mM), while having no significant effect on cell death induced by incubation with naturally-secreted oligomers of Aβ (8.2 pg / ml). Collectively, these results are important for the therapeutic use of COE in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

The potential therapeutic role of Fenugreek saponin against Alzheimers disease: Evaluation of apoptotic and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities

“…AChE activity was measured in brain tissues using a 96-well microplatereader (Ellman et al, 1961;Mukherjee et al, 2007). The enzyme hydrolyzes the substrate acetylthiocholine resulting in the product thiocholine which reacts with Ellman's reagent (DTNB) to produce2-nitrobenzoate-5-mercaptothiocholine and 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoate which can be detected at 405nm.…”

“…Consequently, there is rising spotlight on use imitative herbal medicines for AD treatment (Drever et al, 2008). As already known, acetylcholine is main neurotransmitter playing critical role in AD is acetylcholine (Akhondzadeh et al, 2003).…”

Gluco-obtusifolin and Its Aglycon, Obtusifolin, Attenuate Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment

“…Therefore, up to now, AChE inhibition is still the most successful intervention for mild AD. Previously, we proposed that COE could be a potential therapeutic agent for cholinergic dysfunction (7) and neurodegenerative disorders (18). Based on these previous investigations, we wanted to clarify which compound(s) in COE plays a key role in its anti-amnesic activity.…”

Aluminium interferes with hippocampal calcium signaling in a species-specific manner

“…In darkness (to prevent bleaching), cultures were briefly washed with pre-warmed (25°C) HBS and incubated at room temperature with the cell-permeable fluorescent Ca 2+ indicator Fura-2 AM (Invitrogen) (10 μΜ in 10 ml of HBS) for 1 h [33].…”

“…Standard Fura-2 ratiometric Ca 2+ imaging was conducted as previously described [32][33][34]. Briefly, cultures were examined using an upright microscope (Olympus, 40× objective) and the regions of interest (ROIs) were selected from each cell culture.…”