Flavonoids, a group of compounds mainly derived from vegetables and herbal medicines, share a chemical resemblance to\nestrogen, and indeed some of which have been used as estrogen substitutes. In searching for possible functions of flavonoids,\nthe neuroprotective effect in brain could lead to novel treatment, or prevention, for neurodegenerative diseases. Here, different\nsubclasses of flavonoids were analyzed for its inductive role in neurite outgrowth of cultured PC12 cells. Amongst the tested\nflavonoids, a flavonol aglycone, isorhamnetin that was isolated mainly from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L. showed robust induction\nin the expression of neurofilament, a protein marker for neurite outgrowth, of cultured PC12 cells. Although isorhamnetin by itself\ndid not show significant inductive effect on neurite outgrowth of cultured PC12 cells, the application of isorhamnetin potentiated\nthe nerve growth factor- (NGF-)induced neurite outgrowth. In parallel, the expression of neurofilaments was markedly increased\nin the cotreatment of NGF and isorhamnetin in the cultures. The identification of these neurite-promoting flavonoids could be\nvery useful in finding potential drugs, or food supplements, for treating various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer�s\ndisease and depression.
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