Effects of bergamot polyphenols on delayed ischemic neuronal death in gerbils. Neuropathological evidences and biological mechanisms

Global cerebral ischemia occurs when the blood supply to the entire brain or a large part of the brain is insufficient or blocked, resulting in the tissue deprivation of oxygen and glucose that may give permanent brain damage. In adult humans, global cerebral ischemic injury occurs in some conditions like cardiac arrest, coronary artery bypass surgery, cardio- respiratory failure, and others leading to the drastic reduction of the blood flow to the brain. Bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau) is an endemic plant from the Calabrian region in Italy. It is well known, that intraperitoneal administration of bergamot essential oil (BEO) reduces, in a dose-dependent manner, the brain damage caused by focal cerebral ischemia in rats and a vast scientific literature suggests that natural polyphenols present in the so-called Bergamot Polyphenol Fraction (BPF) possess antioxidant properties. The present study investigated the protective effects of BPF against delayed neuronal death following transient global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in the gerbil. It also examined the possible mechanisms underlying those effects.Here we demonstrate that BPF is effective to induce neuroprotection in an animal model of global brain ischemia and reperfusion and that this is evident both histologically and behaviorally. Neuroprotection, in addition, appear, in our experimental work, to be associated with less oxidative damage and reduced levels of extracellular glutamate.