Bark Constituents from Mushroom-detoxified Rhus verniciflua Suppress Kainic Acid-induced Neuronal Cell Death in Mouse Hippocampus

• Published in: The Korean journal of physiology & pharmacology Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 279 - 283
• Main Authors: Byun, Jong-Seon, Han, Yoon Hee, Hong, Sung-Jun, Hwang, Sung-Mi, Kwon, Yong-Soo, Lee, Hee Jae, Kim, Sung-Soo, Kim, Myong-Jo, Chun, Wanjoo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Physiological Society and The Korean Society of Pharmacology 01.10.2010; 대한약리학회
• Subjects: Original; 약리학; Neuroprotection; Stigma-4-en-3-one; Kainic acid; Stigma-4-en-3,6-dione
• ISSN: 1226-4512; 2093-3827
• DOI: 10.4196/kjpp.2010.14.5.279

Urushinol, a plant allergen, has significantly restricted the medical application of Rhus verniciflua, although it has been reported to possess a wide variety of biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer actions. To reduce the urushinol content while maintaining the beneficial biological activities, mushroom-mediated fermentation of Rhus verniciflua was carried out and this method resulted in significantly attenuated allergenicity [1]. In the present study, to examine the neuroprotective properties of mushroom-fermented stem bark of Rhus verniciflua, two constituents were isolated from mushroom-fermented bark and their neuroprotective properties were examined in a mouse model of kainic acid (KA)-induced excitotoxicity. KA resulted in significant apoptotic neuronal cell death in the CA3 region of mouse hippocampus. However, seven daily administrations of RVH-1 or RVH-2 prior to KA injection significantly attenuated KA-induced pyramidal neuronal cell death in the CA3 region. Furthermore, pretreatment with RVH-1 and RVH-2 also suppressed KA-induced microglial activation in the mouse hippocampus. The present study demonstrates that RVH-1 and RVH-2 isolated from Rhus verniciflua and detoxified using mushroom species possess neuroprotective properties against KA-induced excitotoxicity. This leads to the possibility that detoxified Rhus verniciflua can be a valuable asset in herbal medicine.