Skip Navigation

eCAM 2006 3(1):71-77; doi:10.1093/ecam/nek005
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Inokuchi, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Hara, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Inokuchi, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Hara, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved
The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article for non-commercial purposes provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Brazilian Green Propolis Protects against Retinal Damage In Vitro and In Vivo

Yuta Inokuchi1, Masamitsu Shimazawa1, Yoshimi Nakajima1,3, Shinsuke Suemori1,2, Satoshi Mishima3 and Hideaki Hara1

1Department of Biofunctional Molecules, Gifu Pharmaceutical University Gifu, Japan, 2Department of Ophthalmology, Gifu University School of Medicine Gifu, Japan, and 3Research Center API Co. Ltd, Gifu, Japan

Propolis, a honeybee product, has gained popularity as a food and alternative medicine. Its constituents have been shown to exert pharmacological (anticancer, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory) effects. We investigated whether Brazilian green propolis exerts neuroprotective effects in the retina in vitro and/or in vivo. In vitro, retinal damage was induced by 24 h hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) exposure, and cell viability was measured by Hoechst 33342 and YO-PRO-1 staining or by a resazurin–reduction assay. Propolis inhibited the neurotoxicity and apoptosis induced in cultured retinal ganglion cells (RGC-5, a rat ganglion cell line transformed using E1A virus) by 24 h H2O2 exposure. Propolis also inhibited the neurotoxicity induced in RGC-5 cultures by staurosporine. Regarding the possible underlying mechanism, in pig retina homogenates propolis protected against oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation), as also did trolox (water-soluble vitamin E). In mice in vivo, propolis (100 mg kg–1; intraperitoneally administered four times) reduced the retinal damage (decrease in retinal ganglion cells and in thickness of inner plexiform layer) induced by intravitreal in vivo N-methyl-D-aspartate injection. These findings indicate that Brazilian green propolis has neuroprotective effects against retinal damage both in vitro and in vivo, and that a propolis-induced inhibition of oxidative stress may be partly responsible for these neuroprotective effects.

Keywords: apoptosis – lipid peroxidation – NMDA – retinal damage – retinal ganglion cell

For reprints and all correspondence: Professor H. Hara, Department of Biofunctional Molecules, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 5-6-1 Mitahora-Higashi, Gifu 502-8585, Japan. Tel: +81-58-237-3931; Fax: +81-58-237-5979; E-mail: hidehara{at}gifu-pu.ac.jp


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
E. W. Teixeira, D. Message, G. Negri, A. Salatino, and P. C. Stringheta
Seasonal Variation, Chemical Composition and Antioxidant activity of Brazilian Propolis Samples
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., January 31, 2008; (2008) nem177v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
M. C. Bufalo, J. M. G. Candeias, and J. M. Sforcin
In vitro Cytotoxic Effect of Brazilian Green Propolis on Human Laryngeal Epidermoid Carcinoma (HEp-2) Cells
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., October 22, 2007; (2007) nem147v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
E. L. Cooper
Colony Collapse Disorder May Affect Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., September 1, 2007; 4(3): 275 - 277.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.