Naumita Shah¹, Ankit Nariya¹, Ambar Pathan¹, Alpesh Patel², Shiva Shankaran Chettiar², Devendrasinh Jhala^1,

The free radicals are considered as primary culprit for many multifactorial diseases. These free radicals scavenging remains a foremost challenge in most neurological disorders, which can be subjected with least collateral damage by herbal extracts. In this study, Celastrus paniculatus (CP) seeds aqueous extract (AE) (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 µg/ml) was used to evaluate the neuroprotective efficacy against adverse effects of monosodium glutamate (MSG) (7 mM) in neuroblastoma cell line IMR-32. Preliminary pharmacological investigations and free radical scavenging capacity were evaluated for AE. Cytotoxicity and oxidative stress were studied using MTT assay and some biochemical parameters (total protein and glutathione level as well as activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase). Moreover, genotoxicity due to free radicals was also assessed using comet assay in IMR-32 cells. Results showed presence of various phytochemicals in AE and its significant inhibition of DPPH and NO radicals. AE was not only enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes but also reduced the free radical mediated cytotoxicity of MSG in IMR-32 cells. The DNA damage found in neuronal cells due to free radical toxicity of MSG was reduced in presence of free radical inhibitory phytochemical present in AE. From these results it can be concluded that AE of CP seeds is an effective antioxidant agent and potent neuroprotective herb to mitigate MSG induced neuronal impairments in IMR-32 cells.

celastrus paniculatus, genotoxicity, monosodium glutamate, neurodegeneration, oxidative stress