Cortex Fraxini (Qingpi) Protects Rat Pheochromocytoma Cells against 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Apoptosis

Parkinson's disease (pd) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder having close relationship with oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ros). cortex fraxini (qp) is a kind of traditional chinese medicinal herb with antioxidant properties. it may be a potential candidate for preventing the development of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. thus,the key objective of the current study was to investigate the neuroprotective effect of qp water extract on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-ohda) induced apoptosis in rat pheochromocytoma (pc12) cells. it was found that qp water extract possesses strong antioxidant property with sc50 = 0.15 mg/ml. total phenolic content of qp water extract was found to be 200.78 ± 2.65 mg gae/g. qp water extract's free radical scavenging capacity was demonstrated by reversing the increased level of intracellular ros induced by 6-ohda,using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. moreover,qp water extract (0.5 mg/ml) could remarkably increase the viability of pc12 cells treated with 6-ohda. the protective effect of qp water extract was found to be via inhibiting mek/erk pathway and reversing pi3-k/akt/gsk3β pathway. the current results suggest that qp might be a potential candidate for preventing the development of neurodegenerative diseases,such as pd. © 2015 jing-jie li et al.