Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2013;2013:906726. doi: 10.1155/2013/906726. Epub 2013 Aug 1.

Brazilian green propolis suppresses the hypoxia-induced neuroinflammatory responses by inhibiting NF-κB activation in microglia.

Wu Z1, Zhu A, Takayama F, Okada R, Liu Y, Harada Y, Wu S, Nakanishi H.

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Abstract

Hypoxia has been recently proposed as a neuroinflammatogen, which drives microglia to produce proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-6. Considering the fact that propolis has hepatoprotective, antitumor, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory effects, propolis may have protective effects against the hypoxia-induced neuroinflammatory responses. In this study, propolis (50 μg/mL) was found to significantly inhibit the hypoxia-induced cytotoxicity and the release of proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, by MG6 microglia following hypoxic exposure (1% O2, 24 h). Furthermore, propolis significantly inhibited the hypoxia-induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from mitochondria and the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in microglia. Moreover, systemic treatment with propolis (8.33 mg/kg, 2 times/day, i.p.) for 7 days significantly suppressed the microglial expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine, a biomarker for oxidative damaged DNA, in the somatosensory cortex of mice subjected to hypoxia exposure (10% O2, 4 h). These observations indicate that propolis suppresses the hypoxia-induced neuroinflammatory responses through inhibition of the NF-κB activation in microglia. Furthermore, increased generation of ROS from the mitochondria is responsible for the NF-κB activation. Therefore, propolis may be beneficial in preventing hypoxia-induced neuroinflammation.

PMID: 23983903 PMCID: PMC3747398 DOI: 10.1155/2013/906726

[Indexed for MEDLINE]

 

* THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.