Natural compounds attenuate heavy metal-induced PC12 cell damage

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the neuroprotective effects of six natural compounds (caffeine, gallic acid, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG], L-ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol [Vitamin E] on heavy metal-induced cell damage in rat PC12 cells. METHODS: In this in vitro experiment, rat PC12 cells were exposed to four heavy metals (CdCl(2), HgCl(2), CoCl(2) and PbCl(2)) at different concentrations and cell apoptosis, necrosis and oxidative stress were assessed with and without the addition of the six natural compounds. RESULTS: The metals decreased cell viability but the natural compounds attenuated their effects on apoptosis, necrosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Mitochondrial protein changes were involved in the regulation. CONCLUSION: Overall, the natural compounds did provide protection against the metal-induced PC12 cell damage. These data suggest that natural compounds may have therapeutic potential against metal-induced neurodegenerative disease.