Rutin from Dendropanax morbifera Leveille protects human dopaminergic cells against rotenone induced cell injury through inhibiting JNK and p38 MAPK signaling.

Dendropanax morbifera Leveille (Araliaceae) is well known in Korean traditional medicine for a variety of diseases. Rotenone is a commonly used neurotoxin to produce in vivo and in vitro Parkinson's disease models. This study was designed to elucidate the processes underlying neuroprotection of rutin, a bioflavonoid isolated from D. morbifera Leveille in cellular models of rotenone-induced toxicity. We found that rutin significantly decreased rotenone-induced generation of reactive oxygen species levels in SH-SY5Y cells. Rutin protected the increased level of intracellular Ca(2+) and depleted level of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) induced by rotenone. Furthermore, it prevented the decreased ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 caused by rotenone treatment. Additionally, rutin protected SH-SY5Y cells from rotenone-induced caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation and apoptotic cell death. We also observed that rutin repressed rotenone-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. These results suggest that rutin may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative stress.