Portuguese Propolis Extract Protects Nerve Cells

Northeast Portuguese Propolis Protects Against Staurosporine and Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Neurotoxicity in Primary Cortical Neurons
Food and Chemical Toxicology, Article in Press

The present work describes the protective effects of the crude Northeast Portuguese propolis enriched phenolic extract against staurosporine (STS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced neurotoxicity.

These two stress inducers act through various pathways, including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the induction of apoptosis through caspases activation. STS (25 and 50 nM) and H2O2 (100 μM) increased intracellular ROS and diminished cellular reducing ability in cultured cortical neurons, under conditions unrelated with massive loss of plasma membrane integrity, suggesting decreased neuronal function. Moreover, 25 nM STS and 100 μM H2O2 increased caspase-3 activity by about 2.8-fold and 4.6-fold, respectively. Pre-treatment of cortical neurons with the ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) in the range of 0.01 to 1 μg/ml showed no protective effect on cell reducing capacity, but decreased H2O2-stimulated increment in ROS production by about 17%. In addition, the EEP attenuated STS- or H2O2- induced activation of caspase-3 by 23-39%.

Overall, the results show moderate protective effects induced by Northeast Portuguese EEP in c subjected to stress stimuli.