Abstract
Alzheimer disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder. It is the common form of dementia in elderly people. The etiology of this disease is multifactorial, pathologically it is accompanied with accumulation of amyloid beta and neurofibrillary tangles. Accumulation of amyloid beta and mitochondrial dysfunction leads to oxidative stress. In this study, neuroprotective effect of Artemisiaamygdalina against H(2)O(2)-induced death was studied in differentiated N2a and SH-SY5Ycells. Cells were treated with H(2)O(2) to induce toxicity which was attenuated by Artemisia amygdalina. The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an emerging regulator of cellular resistance to oxidants. It controls the basal and induced expression of antioxidant response element-dependent genes. Further, we demonstrated that Artemisia amygdalina protects neurons through upregulation of Nrf2 pathway. Moreover, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial membrane potential loss formed by H(2)O(2) was attenuated by Artemisia amygdalina. Thus, Artemisia amygdalina may have the possibility to be a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer disease.