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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Neuron-Macrophage Co-cultures to Activate Macrophages Secreting Molecular Factors with Neurite Outgrowth Activity
Published on: March 30, 2018
Antioxidant activity and Neurite outgrowth-enhancing activity of scorbamic acid and a red pigment derived from
Yuji Iwaoka1, Nao Ikeda1, Asako Ohno1
1Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Shobara, Hiroshima, Japan.
Abstract:
L-Ascorbic acid (AA), known as vitamin C, can form browning products by a non-enzymatic process during storage and the browning products cause deterioration of agricultural products. In the browning reaction, a red pigment, 2,2´-nitrilodi-2(2´)-deoxy-L-ascorbic acid ammonium salt (NDA), is generated from AA via L-scorbamic acid (SCA) as an intermediate. However, the biological activities of SCA and NDA have not yet been clarified. In this study, we assayed the antioxidant activities of SCA and NDA using ABTS radical cation and their neurite outgrowth-enhancing activities in PC12 cells. SCA showed stronger radical-scavenging activity than that of AA, while NDA hardly showed any activity. SCA and NDA enhanced the neurite outgrowth induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP after their incorporation into cells in the same manner as that of AA. The results indicated that SCA has antioxidant activity and that SCA and NDA have neurite outgrowth-enhancing activity.
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