Neuroprotective Effect of Alkylresorcinols from Wheat Bran in HT22 Cells: Correlation with in vitro Antioxidant Activity

Abstract

Alkylresorcinols (ARs), which are phenolic lipids found in wheat bran, have attracted a considerable amount of attention because of their antioxidant properties. However, the mechanism of ARs for regulating neuroprotective activity remains unclear. The correlation between the cellular neuroprotective effects of ARs in HT22 cells and their in vitro antioxidant activity were investigated. The results showed that two main constituents of crude ARs were C19:0 and C21:0, which was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Pre-treatment with 400 μg/mL crude ARs could protect from H2O2-induced cellular damage involving low cell viability, leakage of lactate dehydrogenase and decreased superoxide dismutase activity. The maximum radical scavenging ability of DPPH•, ABTS•+, • O2− and •OH– was 85.45%, 88.89%, 84.42% and 87.36%. The neuroprotection effect of ARs was significantly correlated with in vitro antioxidant capacity, confirmed by the maximum correlation coefficients being 0.9988, –0.9974 and 0.9972. The antioxidation of ARs potentially promoted neuroprotective effect and further study is needed to clarify the other mechanism behind ARs benefits.

Keywords

• Wheat bran
• alkylresorcinols
• neuroprotective effect
• antioxidation