ABSTRACT
Aim To examine the effect of Luteolin on H2O2 induced damage in cultured cortical neurons.Methods Cortical neurons were exposed to 200 ?mol?L-1 H2O2 for 12 hours and the cell toxicity of H2O2 was evaluated by LDH release.MTT assay was used to elucidate the mitochondrial activity.Mitochondrial transmembrane potential, intracellular reactive oxygen species, catalase activity and glutathione were measured by spectrofluorophotometer.Results 200 ?mol?L-1 H2O2 induced great damage to mitochondria and caused death in primary cultured cortical neurons.20 ?mol?L-1 Luteolin effectively protected neurons from oxidative damage, maintained the mitochondrial activity as well as transmemnbrane potential, decreased the ROS accumulation and kept the activity of the antioxidant system. What is more, increasing the GSH level by Luteolin pretreatment might improve the antioxidant ability of neurons.Conclusions Luteolin protects cortical neurons from H2O2 toxicity by inhibiting the damage to the mitochondria and improving the antioxidant ability of neurons.