Neuroprotective effects of chronic hesperetin administration in mice

• Published in: Archives of pharmacal research Vol. 31; no. 11; pp. 1457 - 1462
• Main Authors: Choi, Eun Jeong, Ahn, Woong Shick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Pharmaceutical Society of Korea 01.11.2008; 대한약학회
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Blotting, Western; Brain Chemistry - drug effects; Catalase - metabolism; Female; Glutathione - metabolism; Hesperidin - pharmacology; Medicine; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Neuroprotective Agents; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Pharmacy; Protein Carbonylation - drug effects; Research Article; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - metabolism; 약학; In vivo; Neuroprotective; Hesperetin; Antioxidant; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0253-6269; 1976-3786
• DOI: 10.1007/s12272-001-2130-1

Flavonoids are considered therapeutic agents in neurodegenerative disease because of their neuroprotective activity. This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of hesperetin in the brains of mice administered hesperetin at 10 or 50 mg/kg body weight (BW) for five weeks. Hesperetin inhibited biomarkers of oxidative stress, such as the level of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) and carbonyl content, although there was a significant reduction at the higher dose of hesperetin. Moreover, at the higher dose, hesperetin significantly activated the catalase and total superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. The same patterns were observed in the protein expression, and the expression of CuZn-SOD was more pronounced than that of Mn-SOD. The reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio was increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner, as well as the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities. Moreover, hesperetin did not induce apoptosis, even at the higher dose, as evidenced by caspase-3 expression and its activity. Based on these results, hesperetin may have a neuroprotective effect via the inhibition of oxidative damage, together with activation of the antioxidant enzyme system.