Neuroprotective effects of antioxidant constituents isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten Makino

Opuntia ficus-indicavar. saboten Makino (Cactaceae) is a tropical or subtropical plant that has been widely used as folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes, asthma, burn, edema and gastritis. The purposes of the present study were to identify antioxidant constituents from fruits and stems of the plant cultivated in Cheju island, Korea, and examine their in vitro neuroprotective activities. Using a chromatographic fractionation method, ten chemical constituents were isolated from ethyl acetate extracts. By means of chemical and spectroscopic methods, those were identified as eight flavonoids such as kaempherol (a), quercetin (b), kaempferol 3-methyl ether (c), quercetin 3-methyl ether (d), narcissin (e), dihydrokaernpferol (f), dihydroquercetin (g) and erioclictyol (h), and two terpenoids such as 3-oxo-${\alpha}$-ionol-${\beta}$-d-glucopyranoside (i) and roseoside (j). Among the isolated compounds, comrounds c~e and h~j were those reported for the first titre from the plant. Compounds b, d and g showed DPPH free radical scavenging activities with IC$\sub$50/ values of 28, 19 and 31, ${\mu}$M respectively. Compounds d and g also inhibited iron-dependent lipid peroxidation with IC$\sub$50/ values of 2.4 and 3.5 ${\mu}$M. In a primary rat cortical neuronal cell culture system, compounds b, d and g inhibited xanthine/xanthine oxidase-induced (IC$\sub$50/ values of 18.2, 2.1 and 54.6 ${\mu}$M) and H$_2$O$_2$-induced (IC$\sub$50/ values of 13.6, 1.9 and 25.7 ${\mu}$M) cytotoxicities. In addition, compounds d and g inhibited NMDA-induced excitotoxicity by 21 and 33%, and only compound d inhibited growth factor withdrawal-induced apoptosis by 31% at a tested concentration of 3 ${\mu}$M. The results suggest that the antioxidant constituents with in vitroneuroprotective activities may serve as lead chemicals for the development of neuroprotective agent.