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Neuroprotective effects of a standardized flavonoid extract from Diospyros kaki leaves

Authors Bei, Weijian; Zang, Linquan; Guo, Jiao; Peng, Wenlie; Xu, Anlong; Good, David A.; Hu, Yinming; Wu, Wei; Hu, Dehui; Zhu, Xinghong; Wei, Ming; Li, Chuyuan

Journal JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY , OCT 29 2009,1:126

DOI 10.1016/j.jep.2009.07.034 PubMed 19665536

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: Flavonoids, extracted from the leaves of Diospyros kaki, are the main therapeutic components of NaoXingQing (NXQ), a potent and patented Chinese herbal remedy widely used in China for the treatment of apoplexy syndrome.Aim of the study: To investigate the neuroprotective effects of FLDK-P70, a standardized flavonoid extract, using ill vivo rat models of both focal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and oil transient global brain ischemia induced by four-vessel occlusion (4-VO). We also aim to examine the effects of FLDK-P70 Oil glutamate-induced cell injury of hippocampal neurons as well as oil hypoxia-induced injury of cortical neurons in primary cell Culture.Materials and methods and results: Administration of FLDK-P70 for 12 days (40, 80 mg/kg body weight, p.o., 5 days before and 7 days after 4-VO) increased the survival of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neutrons after transient global brain ischemia. Similarly, administration of FLDK-P70 for 7 days (40,80 mg/kg body weight, p.o., 3 days before and 4 days after MCAO) significantly reduced the lesion of the insulted brain hemisphere and improved the neurological behavior of rats. In primary rat hippocampal neuronal cultures, pretreatment with FLDK-P70 (5, 10 mu g/ml) protected neurons from glutamate-induced excitotoxic neuronal death in a dose-dependent manner. In primary rat cerebral cortical neuronal culture. pretreatment with FLDK-P70 (25, 100 mu g/ml) also reduced hypoxia-reoxygen induced neuronal death and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusions:These in vivo and in vitro results suggest that FLDK-P70 significantly Protects rats from MCAO and 4-VO ischemic injury in vivo and protects hippocampal neurons from glutamate-induced excitotoxic injury as well as cortical neurons from hypoxia-induced injury in vitro. The mechanisms of these effects may be due to the antioxidative activity of the flavonoids. These results convincingly demonstrate that FLDK-P70 may be useful for the prevention and treatment of ischemia/reperfusion injury and other related neurodegenerative diseases. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Species covered 柿 Diospyros kaki