Ekpo, E. O.Enogieru, Adaze BijouOmoruyi, Sylvester Ifeanyi2021-01-082021-01-082020Ekpo, E. O. et al. (2020). Aqueous leaf extract of Sutherlandia frutescens attenuates ROS-induced apoptosis and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in MPP+-treated SH-SY5Y cells. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 19(3),549-5551596-982710.4314/tjpr.v19i3.13http://hdl.handle.net/10566/5610To investigate the neuroprotective activity of the aqueous extract of Sutherlandia frutescens (SF) against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Methods: SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were divided into different treatment groups: untreated cells, cells treated with MPP+ alone (2 mM), cells pretreated with SF (20 μg) prior to MPP+ (2 mM) treatment and cells treated with SF (20 μg) alone. Twenty-four hours after treatment with MPP+, cell viability was assessed by MTT assay, and changes in cell morphology, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) as well as caspases 3/7 and 9 activities were determined. Results: Treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with MPP+ alone significantly altered cellular morphology, increased ROS production (p = 0.005), induced a significant loss of MMP (p = 0.0011) and caused significant apoptotic cell death, via the activation of caspases 3/7 and 9 (p ≤ 0.0359). These effects were however significantly (p ≤ 0.0359) attenuated in cells pre-treated with the aqueous leaf extract of SF, indicating the possible neuroprotective activity of the SF extract.enApoptosisNeurodegenerationParkinson's diseaseReactive oxygen speciesSutherlandia frutescensArticle