Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the possible protective effects of n-BuOH extract of Centaurea maroccana Ball aerial parts against CP-induced neurotoxicity in male Wistar albino’s mice. The potential neuroprotective properties of BECM were studied in vitro and in in vivo model. The in vitro study revealed that n-butanolic extract of Centaurea maroccana possessed a strong antioxidant activity by using different assays, namely DPPH•, ABTS•+, DMSO alkalin, Reducing power, β-carotene-linoleic acid and CUPRAC. Also it has demonstrated a high anti-proliferative activity against C6 (Rattus norvegicus brain glioma) and HT29 (Homo sapiens colorectal adenocarcinoma) by the decreases viability of both cancer cell lines. Furthermore, BECM exhibited neuroprotective properties, by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) level and lipid peroxidation (LPO) depending on the concentration in the brain tissue. On the other hand, the in vivo study revealed that the administration of a single dose of PC (8 mg/kg; bw) induced a marked brain damage manifested by a significant increases of both AChE and LDH activities. Also oxidative stress was evident in CP-group by the elevation in lipid peroxidation level (MDA), and the decrease in total antioxidant capacity (TAC), as well as a marked decrease in activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the glutathione metabolizing enzyme ( glutathione peroxidase “GPx”, glutathione S-transferase “GST”) and GSH level in brain mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions. Moreover, the brain oxidative stress was associated with multifocal histological changes in cerebral cortex. While, the pretreatment of mice with BECM (200 mg/kg; bw) for 10 days significantly improved the alterations induced by CP in all the parameters mentioned previously with better recovery in the brain tissue. Interestingly, the BECM achieved neuroprotection comparable to vitamin E (100 mg/kg; bw) in most of the evaluated parameters. Thus, it appears that the n-butanolic extract of Centaurea maroccana provides a protective potency against CP-induced neurotoxicity which seems to be linked to its richness in polyphenols confirmed by LC-MS analysis.
