Oxidative stress is considered a major contributor in the pathogenesis of
diabetic neuropathy and in
diabetes complications, such as nephropathy and
cardiovascular diseases.
Diabetic neuropathy, which is the most frequent
complications of diabetes,
affect sensory, motor, and
autonomic nerves. This study aimed to investigate whether 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) protects SH-SY5Y neuronal
cells against high
glucose-induced
toxicity. In the current study, we found that diabetic
patients exhibited higher
lipid peroxidation caused by
oxidative stress than
healthy subjects. 7,8-DHF exhibits
superoxide anion and
hydroxyl radical scavenging activities. High
glucose-induced
toxicity severely damaged SH-SY5Y neuronal
cells, causing mitochondrial depolarization; however, 7,8-DHF recovered mitochondrial polarization. Furthermore, 7,8-DHF effectively modulated the expression of
pro-apoptotic protein (Bax) and
anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) under high
glucose, thus inhibiting the activation of
caspase signaling pathways. These results indicate that 7,8-DHF has
antioxidant effects and protects
cells from apoptotic
cell death induced by high
glucose. Thus, 7,8-DHF may be developed into a promising candidate for the
treatment of
diabetic neuropathy.