Neuroprotective effects of a sesquiterpene lactone and flavanones from Paulownia tomentosa Steud. against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured rat cortical cells.

The neuroprotective effects of Paulownia tomentosa against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity were studied in primary cultured rat cortical cells. It was found that the aqueous extract of this medicinal plant significantly attenuated glutamate-induced toxicity. In order to clarify the mechanism(s) underlying this neuroprotective effect, the active fractions and components were isolated and identified. Five compounds were isolated as the methanol extracts from air-dried flowers of P. tomentosa. Isoatriplicolide tiglate exhibited significant neuroprotective activity against glutamate-induced toxicity at concentrations ranging from 1 μM to 10 μM, and exhibited cell viability of approximately 43-78%. Therefore, the neuroprotective effect of P. tomentosa might be due to the inhibition of glutamate-induced toxicity by the sesquiterpene lactone derivative it contains.