Neuroprotective effect of Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. fruits against glutamate-induced apoptosis in cortical neurons.

The protective effect of ethanol extract from the fruits of Alpinia oxyphylla on glutamate-induced neuronal apoptosis was examined in primary cultured mouse cortical neurons. After exposure of cortical neurons to 30 microM glutamate for 24 h, cortical neurons exhibited remarkable apoptotic-like death as evidenced by multi-indices including morphological features, cell viability assay, DNA fragmentation on agarose gel and flow cytometric analysis. Co-treatment of the neurons with A. oxyphylla fruits extract (AFEx) (80-200 microg/ml) in the presence of glutamate significantly elevated cell viability, reduced the number of apoptotic cells and decreased the intensity of glutamate-induced DNA fragmentation. These results suggest the neuroprotective potential of A. oxyphylla fruits against glutamate-induced neuronal apoptosis.