Nitric oxide-related toxicity in cultured astrocytes: effect of Bacopa monniera

• Published in: Life sciences (1973) 2003-08, Vol.73 (12), p.1517-1526
• Main Authors: Russo, Alessandra, Borrelli, Francesca, Campisi, Agata, Acquaviva, Rosaria, Raciti, Giuseppina, Vanella, Angelo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Newborn; Astrocytes; Astrocytes - cytology; Astrocytes - drug effects; Astrocytes - metabolism; Bacopa - chemistry; Bacopa monniera; Cells, Cultured; Comet Assay; Cytoprotection - drug effects; DNA - drug effects; DNA damage; DNA Damage - drug effects; DNA Fragmentation - drug effects; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Medicine, Ayurvedic; Nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide Donors - toxicity; Oxidants species; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine - toxicity; Scrophulariaceae
• ISSN: 0024-3205; 1879-0631
• DOI: 10.1016/S0024-3205(03)00476-4

There is growing evidence that high concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), generated by activated astrocytes, might be involved in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, ischemia and epilepsy. It has recently been suggested that glial cells may produce NO under superoxide radical stimulation by enzyme-independent mechanism. This suggests that also natural antioxidants may have therapeutical relevance in neurodegenerative diseases. Studies of Bhattacharya et al . have evidenced that Bacopa monniera (BM) (family Scrophulariaceae), an Ayurvedic medicinal plant clinically used for memory enhancing, epilepsy, insomnia and as a mild sedative, is able to reduce the memory-dysfunction in rat models of Alzheimer's disease, but the molecular mechanisms of this action are yet to be determined. In the present study, we examined the effect of a methanolic extract of BM on toxicity induced by the nitric oxide donor, S-nitroso- N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP), in culture of purified rat astrocytes. Our results indicate that, after 18 h of treatment, SNAP induced an increase in the production of reactive species, but did not induce the rupture of cellular membrane. Conversely, this NO donor induced a fragmentation of genomic DNA compared to control astrocytes. The extract of BM inhibited the formation of reactive species and DNA damage in a dose dependent manner. This data supports the traditional use of BM and indicates that this medicinal plant has a therapeutic potential in treatment or prevention of neurological diseases.