cytoprotective effect of ethyl acetate extract of artemisia turanica

Background :oxidative stress causes biological effects such as signaling changes, gene expression, mutagenesis, and apoptosis. therefore, it is worthwhile to find new sources of natural antioxidants.objectives :the purpose of this research was to investigate the in vitro neuroprotective effects of different fractions of ethyl acetate (ea) extract of artemisia turanica krasch. against oxidative stress and apoptosis in pc12 cells. the extract was previously reported to be active in cytoprotective assays. methods :the ea extract was fractionated using the reversed-phase vacuum liquid chromatography (rp-vlc) method. total phenolic (tpc) and flavonoid contents (tfc) of the fractions were evaluated. the protective effect of different fractions on the toxicity of hydrogen peroxide (h2o2) in pc12 cells was evaluated using the mtt assay. additionally, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ros), changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (mmp), and the activity of caspase 3 in pc12 cells were evaluated. results :the rp-vlc of the ea extract yielded seven fractions (f1 - f7). pre-exposure of pc12 cells to f6 protected the cells against h2o2-induced toxicity and reduced ros production. f6 also caused a significant decrease in caspase 3 activity. the tpc and tfc of f6 were relatively low. conclusions :the most active fraction of the ea extract of a. turanica is probably rich in non-phenolic antioxidant components.