Apigenin Ameliorates Oxidative Stress-induced Neuronal Apoptosis in SH-SY5Y Cells

scavenging activities of apigenin.Our results showed that apigenin exhibited remarkable, concentration-dependent •OH, O 2 -, and NO radical scavenging activities.Particularly, apigenin indicated the strongest •OH radical scavenging activity with 93.38% in the concentration of 100 µM.Furthermore, we also investigated the protective effects of apigenin against hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 )-induced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells.The H 2 O 2 treatment resulted in a significant decrease in cell viability, as well as an increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and ROS production compared with the H 2 O 2 -nontreated SH-SY5Y cells.However, the cell viability significantly increased in the apigenin-treated group, as well as inhibited ROS generation and LDH release compared with the H 2 O 2 -induced control group.To elucidate the protective mechanisms of apigenin against oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y, we analyzed the apoptosis-related protein expression.The apigenin treatment resulted in the downregulated expression of apoptosis-related protein markers, such as cytochrome C, cleaved caspase-3, poly (ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP), and B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X (Bax), as well as the upregulated expression of anti-apoptosis markers such as B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2).In this study, we report that apigenin exhibits a neuroprotective effect against oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells.These results suggest that apigenin may be considered as a potential agent for neurodegenerative disease prevention.