Antioxidants from Punica Granatum Inhibit the Production of Free Radicals by Inorganic Arsenic in Rat Hippocampal Cultures

Quinteros H. F.A.; Mejía G. T.A.; Paria C. C.G.; Vilca P. N.Y.; Chipana C. R.Y.; Chambilla Q. V.F.; Am R.M. · Revista de Investigaciones Veterinarias del Peru (2026) · DOI: 10.15381/rivep.v37i3.30725

Resumen

The production of free radicals in hippocampal cultures treated with inorganic arsenic was evaluated to understand the neurotoxicity of arsenic and the antioxidant mechanism to mitigate the effects of arsenic, such as the enhancement of antioxidants and the use of possible neuroprotective agents such as Punica granatum. In this study, in vitro cultures of RHiN rat hippocampal cells were used at a density of 1 x 106 cells/plate. The antioxidant activity of the methanolic extract of Punica granatum was determined by measuring the DPPH 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (4 mg/mL) compared to the positive control, quercetin 100 ppm. The oxidizing effect of 10 μM sodium arsenite was evaluated for 6 h using the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test and the DCFDH2 assay for fluorescent reactive oxygen species (ROS). Exposure to 10 μM sodium arsenite for 6 h and to a 100 ppm methanolic extract of P. granatum peel for 24 h was simultaneously evaluated to determine cell viability using the 3-(3,4-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results show that 10 μM sodium arsenite induced a 40% increase in superoxide anion compared to the control (p<0.05), also showing an increase in fluorescent ROS compared to the control. The antioxidant capacity of the P. granatum peel extract reached 98.06%. Finally, the neurotoxic effect of sodium arsenite (58.3%) was inhibited by the methanolic extract of P. granatum peel, increasing neuronal viability to 93.2% compared to the control (p<0.01). It is concluded that 10 μM sodium arsenite produces ROS-type free radicals in neuronal cultures (RHiN) and, consequently, the methanolic extract of P. granatum peel has antioxidant capacity by inhibiting the hippocampal cytotoxic effect of inorganic arsenic, suggesting its use as a preventive measure in possible central nervous system disorders. © (2026), Los autores. Este artículo es publicado por la Rev Inv Vet Perú de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Este es un artículo de acceso abierto, distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es] que permite el uso, distribución y reproducción en cual-quier medio, siempre que la obra original sea debidamente citada de su fuente original.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann; Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades