Protective Effects of Loofah Leaf-extract on Nerve Cell Injury

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by increased β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and neuronal dysfunction leading to impaired learning and recall. Ageing and induced oxidative stress are among proposed risk factors. We studied the protective effect of Loofah leaf-extract (LL) on the injury of PC12 cells induced by amyloid β protein (Aβ25-35). Neurons injury model was induced by Aβ25-35. MTT assay was used to detect the cellular viability after different concentrations of Loofah leaf-extract. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were detected. The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by Western Blotting. Results: Compared with the control group, the cellular viability of Loofah leaf-extract group is increased, the activity of GSH-Px and SOD are significantly increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), MDA content decreased significantly, the expression of Bax is decreased and Bcl-2 is increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). These results indicate that Loofah leaf-extract can protect PC12 cells damage.