Effect of berberine and Berberis aetnensis C. Presl. alkaloid extract on glutamate-evoked tissue transglutaminase up-regulation in astroglial cell cultures

Phytother Res. 2011 Jun;25(6):816-20. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3340. Epub 2010 Nov 17.

Abstract

Berberis aetnensis C. Presl. is a bushy-spiny shrub common on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy), containing various alkaloids with several pharmacological properties. This study assessed the effect of berberine and of the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots on the glutamate-evoked tissue transglutaminase (TG2) up-regulation in rat astrocyte primary cultures, used as an in vitro model of excitotoxicity. The findings show that the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots consists mainly of berberine. Furthermore, berberine and the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots were able to restore the oxidative status modified by glutamate and the levels of TG2 to control values. It was found that berberine or the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots are able to ameliorate the excessive production of glutamate, protein misfolding and aggregation, mitochondrial fragmentation, and neurodegeneration. Thus, it is suggested that berberine and the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots, may represent a natural therapeutic strategy in the neuropathological conditions associated with excitotoxicity.

MeSH terms

  • Alkaloids / pharmacology*
  • Animals
  • Astrocytes / drug effects*
  • Astrocytes / enzymology
  • Astrocytes / metabolism
  • Berberine / pharmacology*
  • Berberis / chemistry*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Glutamic Acid / pharmacology*
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Plant Roots / chemistry
  • Protein Glutamine gamma Glutamyltransferase 2
  • Rats
  • Sicily
  • Transglutaminases / metabolism*
  • Up-Regulation / drug effects

Substances

  • Alkaloids
  • Plant Extracts
  • Tgm2 protein, rat
  • Berberine
  • Glutamic Acid
  • Protein Glutamine gamma Glutamyltransferase 2
  • Transglutaminases