Icariin reduces Glu‐induced excitatory neurotoxicity via antioxidative and antiapoptotic pathways in SH‐SY5Y cells

Excessive glutamate (Glu) can lead to significant effects on neural cells through the generation of neurotoxic or excitotoxic cascades. Icariin (ICA) is a main active ingredient of Chinese Medicine Berberidaceae epimedium L., and has many biological activities, such as antiinflammation, antioxidative stress, and anti‐depression. This study aims to evaluate the effect of ICA on Glu‐induced excitatory neurotoxicity of SH‐SY5Y cells. The cell viability assay was evaluated by the CCK‐8 assay. The apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential were assessed by flow cytometry. Intracellular Ca 2+ concentration was determined by using the fluorescent probe Fluo‐3. Protein expression was detected by western blotting analysis. ICA can significantly enhance the SH‐SY5Y cell viability reduced by Glu. At the same time, ICA can significantly reduce apoptosis, ROS, nitric oxide (NO) levels, and intracellular Ca 2+ concentration, and significantly inhibit the increase of mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, ICA significantly increased the expression of P47phox and iNOS, decreased p‐JNK/JNK, p‐P38/P38, Bax/Bcl‐2, active caspase‐3, and active caspase‐9. These results indicate that ICA may reduce the excitatory neurotoxicity of Glu‐induced SH‐SY5Y cells through suppression of oxidative stress and apoptotic pathways, suggesting that ICA could be a potential therapeutic candidate for neurological disorders propagated by Glu toxicity.