Protective effects of gypenosides on PC12 cell injury induced by oxidative stress

In this study, the protective effects of gypenosides (GP) on PC12 cell injury induced by H₂O₂ was studied. Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell apoptosis, and the flow cytometry and Western blotting were used to measure Bcl-2 and Bax expressions. In addition, Effects of GP on LDH, SOD and MDA contents were observed. The results showed that GP could ameliorate PC12 cell injury induced by H₂O₂, reduce LDH release out of the cells, elevate SOD content and lower MDA content in PC12 supernatant, and increase the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax. These indicate that GP can produce a protective effect on PC12 cell injury induced by H₂O₂, promote the body to eliminate oxygen free radicals to improve the peroxidation damage, and exerts its protective effect on the nervous cells through an antiapoptotic mechanism and regulating Bcl-2 and Bax expressions at the transcription and translation of them.