Neuroprotective effect of Mayan medicinal plant extracts against glutamate-induced toxicity

Neurological disorders are a public health problem worldwide for which there is currently no direct treatment of the cause of the disorder. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential in vitro neuroprotective property of plants used in Mayan traditional medicine. Plant ethanolic extracts were prepared and tested on models in which neuronal damage was induced by glutamate, i.e., a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) and rat cortical neurons. HPLC profiles from active extracts were also obtained. A total of 51 plant species were identified in the literature as plant species used in Mayan traditional medicine for the treatment of symptoms suggestive of neurological disorders, and we studied 34 of these in our analysis. Six extracts had a neuroprotective effect on SH-SY5Y cells, with the most active extract being that from Schwenckia americana roots (half maximal effective concentration [EC₅₀] 11.3 ± 2.9 μg/mL), and three extracts exhibited a neuroprotective effect in the rat neuron cortical model, with the most active extract being that from Elytraria imbricata aerial parts (EC₅₀ 6.8 ± 3.1 μg/mL). These results suggest that the active extracts from such plants have the potential to be a great resource. Future studies should be performed that are more extensive and which isolate the active constituents.