Protective effects of Wuyaoshunqisan against H2O2-induced apoptosis on hippocampal cell line HiB5

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of different neurodegenerative disorders. To investigate the protective effects of Wuyaoshunqisan against H2O2-induced apoptosis in the central nervous system, the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method, flow cytometric analysis, and the DNA fragmentation assay were performed on cells of the hippocampal cell line HiB5. Through the morphological and biochemical analyses, it was shown that HiB5 cells treated with H2O2 exhibit classical apoptotic features, while the occurrence of such changes is reduced in cells pre-treated with Wuyaoshunqisan prior to H2O2 exposure.