In-vitro neuroprotective activity of Cynomorium songaricum extracts

In Traditional Chinese Medicine a number of herbs are used to alleviate age-related diseases including memory impairment and dementia, among them stems of Cynomorium songaricum, Cynomoriaceae. In this study, we evaluated the protective effect of different extracts of C. songaricum on amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), staurosporine, as well as hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase induced cell death in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells. Aβ (20µM) as well as staurosporine (100 nM) both reduced cell viability to about 50–60%. The methanolic extract of C. songaricum attenuated Aβ induced cell death at concentrations of 100 and 10µg/ml, an even stronger effect was observed for the ethyl acetate fraction obtained from the crude methanolic extract. On the other hand, the dichloromethane as well as water fractions showed no protective effects. Additionally, the ethyl acetate fraction was also able to protect cells from apoptotic death induced by staurosporine at concentrations of 100 and 10µg/ml. In order to further analyze the protective mode of action, the ability of extracts to protect against superoxide anions induced cell death was also evaluated. In this system, cell viability could again be restored by MeOH and EtOAc extracts, the latter showing significant protective effects even at concentrations as low as 0.1µg/ml. Thus, extracts and constituents of C. songaricum might provide a basis for novel therapeutic strategies against Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.