Open AccessGreek Sage Exhibits Neuroprotective Activity against Amyloid Beta-Induced Toxicity
Author(s) -
Antonis Ververis,
Georgia Savvidou,
Kristia Ioannou,
Paschalis Nicolaou,
Kyproula Christodoulou,
Michael Plioukas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.552
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1741-4288
pISSN - 1741-427X
DOI - 10.1155/2020/2975284
Subject(s) - neuroprotection , oxidative stress , amyloid beta , antioxidant , pharmacology , dpph , salvia officinalis , chemistry , flavonoid , traditional medicine , toxicity , reactive oxygen species , viability assay , biochemistry , medicine , cell , officinalis , peptide , organic chemistry
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting the elderly at a high incidence. AD is of unknown etiology and currently, no cure is available. Present medication is restricted to treating symptoms; thus, a need exists for the development of effective remedies. Medicinal plants constitute a large pool, from which active compounds of great pharmaceutical potential can be derived. Various Salvia spp. are considered as neuroprotective, and here, the ability of Salvia fruticosa (SF) to protect against toxic effects induced in an AD cell model was partly assessed. Two of AD's characteristic hallmarks are the presence of elevated oxidative stress levels and the cytotoxic aggregation of amyloid beta (A β ) peptides. Thus, we obtained SF extracts in three different solvents of increasing polarity, consecutively, to evaluate (a) their antioxidant capacity with the employment of the free radical scavenging assay (DPPH • ), of the ferric reducing ability of plasma assay (FRAP), and of the cellular reactive oxygen species assay (DCFDA) and (b) their neuroprotective properties against A β 25–35 -induced cell death with the use of an MTT assay. All three SF extracts showed a considerable antioxidant capacity, with the methanol (SFM) extract being the strongest. The results of the total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC) of the extracts and of the FRAP and the DCFDA assays showed a similar pattern. In addition, and most importantly, the dichloromethane (SFD) and the petroleum ether (SFP) extracts had an effect on A β toxicity, exhibiting a significant neuroprotective potential. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SF extracts demonstrating neuroprotective potential against A β toxicity. In combination with their antioxidant capacity, SF extracts may be beneficial in combating AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.