Glutamate is one of the major excitatory
neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Increasing
glutamate leads to
neurodegenerative disease. Nowadays, plant medicine plays a role in the treatment of some disorders. In this research, we investigated the
neuroprotective effect of <I>Ferula gummosa</I> root extract against
glutamate-induced oxidative stress in the rat adrenal
pheochromocytoma (PC12) and mouse
neuroblastoma (N2a) cell lines. The cells were pretreated with extract for 2 h and then exposed to
glutamate for 24 h. After 24 h the level of
malondialdehyde (MDA),
reactive oxygen species (ROS), and apoptotic cells were determined in both cell lines.
Glutamate increased lipid peroxidation, ROS, and apoptotic cells in both cell lines. The extract significantly increased the cell viability and decreased the ROS generation under
glutamate-induced oxidative stress in these cells. Also, the extract decreased the MDA level and apoptotic cells. The results showed that <I>Ferula gummosa</I> root may have a protective effect on
glutamate-induced toxicity, suggesting that the extract protects neuronal cells from
glutamate-induced oxidative stress..