Protective Effect of Epicatechin on Survival of PC12 Neurons Exposed to Valproic Acid

 Background and purpose: It is well established that valproic acid (VPA) is teratogenic associated with oxidative stress in humans and in all animal species tested. In this study, considering the chemical composition of catechins, we investigated its protective effect on the survival of PC12 nerve cells exposed to valproic acid. Materials and methods: The protective effects of epicatechin (EC) at different concentrations (10, 50, 100, 500, 1000 μg/ml) on survival and viability of PC12 neuronal cells exposed to valproic acid were measured by MTT assay and oxidative stress tests (GPx, SOD, ROS, and lipid peroxidation). All data were analyzed in GraphPad Prism 8.0 using one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-test. Results: According to findings, EC reduced the cytotoxic effects of valproic acid at 500 and 1000 µg/ml (P<0.0001). EC significantly reduced the oxidative stress induced by valproic acid via decreasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) production (P<0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively). Conclusion: The present study showed that epicatechin could increase antioxidant potential and exhibits significant cytoprotective effect against valproic acid toxicity in PC12 cells.