The protective effect of different extracts of aerial parts of Artemisia ciniformis against H2O2-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells

The major objective of this study is to investigate whether Artemisia ciniformis (A. ciniformis) is able to rescue the PC12 neuronal cells from H 2 O 2 -mediated oxidative stress. Different antioxidant and apoptotic assays were conducted on A. ciniformis. Among different A. ciniformis extracts, three (petroleum ether, dichloromethane, and ethylacetate) were the most proper ones. The protective effects of these extracts against H 2 O 2 -induced cytotoxicity were examined. Ethyl acetate (EA) extract was fractionated and total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC) of fractions were estimated. EA extract was found to be the most effective extract on suppressing the toxicity of H 2 O 2 . It caused up to 35 reduction in H 2 O 2 -induced cellular death, more than 70 decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, 47 increase in SOD activity, almost 175 decrease in caspase-3 activity, and more than 27 elevation in mitochondrial membrane potential level. After fractionation, the most potent fraction (F3) was found active in protecting PC12 cells from oxidative stress consequences. This fraction possessed the highest ratio of flavonoid to non-flavonoid phenolic compounds (TFC = 125.03 ± 1.31 mg quercetin equivalent/g and TPC = 127.18 ± 6.00 mg gallic acid equivalent/g), suppressed the toxicity mediated by H 2 O 2 and successfully inhibited the overproduction of ROS caused by H 2 O 2 . These results altogether suggested A. ciniformis is a potential choice for preventing different neurodegenerative diseases. © 2019 Leila Hosseinzadeh et al.