Neuroprotective effect of endophytic fungal antioxidant polyphenols on cerebral ischemic stroke-induced Albino rats; memory impairments, brain damage, and upregulation of metabolic proteins

Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability throughout the world. Recently, antioxidant therapies were attempted to reduce apoptotic cell death in cerebral ischemia animal model. Purpose: To study the neuroprotective properties of polyphenol derived from fungal endophyte analyzed on experimental Albino rat. Methods: Polyphenols producing endophytic fungi was initially isolated from the seeds of Moringa oleifera Lam. The endophytes were cultured in potato dextrose broth and the potent strain Simplicillium sp. ED7 produced maximum phenolic content (86.42 ± 5.3 mg GAE/g) than other fungi. Polyphenols were extracted with solvent and used for the determination of neuroprotective properties. Results: Isoflurane was used to induce stroke in Albino rat and treated polyphenols showed reduced neurological deficits and improved neuroprotective properties. The ischemic Albino rats treated with polyphenols restored memory loss. The increased dosage of polyphenol improved the biosynthesis of more antioxidant enzymes than lower dosages. Central artery occlusion evoked about 2.28-fold increase in reactive oxygen species in brain tissue and the generation of reactive oxygen species was decreased in polyphenol treated animal. Conclusion: Albino rats treated with different doses of polyphenol had decrease ROS amount than sham group. The elevated level of cytochrome revealed mitochondrial damage in stroke induced control Albino rat. After 24 h of reperfusion on Albino rat, upregulation of total p65 and phospho-p65 were determined. The present finding revealed that polyphenl has a neuroprotective property in ischemia and regulate metabolic enzymes and restore brain injury.