The protective effect of plant extract against glutamate-induced DNA damage and reduced cell viability in a primary retinal ganglion cell line.

Background: Glutamate excitotoxicity can cause DNA damage and is linked to many retinal and neurological disorders. In mammals, the visual signal from the eyes to the brain is conducted only by retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which can be damaged by overstimulation of glutamate receptors.

Methodology: We examined the protective effects of seed extract against glutamate-induced DNA damage in RGCs. RGCs cells were treated with 5, 10, 50, or 100 µg/ml of seed extract and glutamate separately and then assessed for DNA damage using the comet assay. We also evaluated the viability of the RGCs after both treatments using the MTT test. Additionally, RGCs were pretreated with . seed extract (50 or 100 µg/ml) for 2 h before glutamate treatment (100 µg/ml) to determine the potential protective effects of . We performed a phytochemical analysis of the seed extract using standard reactions.

Results: The seed extract was found to be rich in many phytochemicals. We observed a significant dose-dependent elevation in all comet assay variables in glutamate-treated RGCs, whereas seed extract treatments did not show any significant change in DNA integrity.

Conclusion: seed extract demonstrates neuroprotective effects, which suggests it may help to prevent the development of many neurodegenerative disorders.