Auraptene/Naringin-Rich Fruit Juice of Citrus kawachiensis (Kawachi Bankan) Prevents Ischemia-Induced Neuronal Cell Death in Mouse Brain through Anti-Inflammatory Responses

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion leads to delayed neuronal cell death, resulting in brain damage. Auraptene (AUR) and naringin (NGIN), which exert neuroprotective effects in ischemic brain, are abundant in the peel of Citrus kawachiensis. Although parts of AUR/NGIN are transited from the peel to the juice during the squeezing of this fruit, these amounts in juice might be too low to exert effects. We thus prepared the AUR/NGIN-rich fruit juice of C. kawachiensis by addition of peel paste to the raw juice. The present study revealed that orally administration of the dried powder of this AUR/NGIN-rich fruit juice (2.5 g/kg/d) for 7 d to ischemic mice significantly suppressed the ischemia-induced neuronal cell death in the hippocampus, which was coincidently with the reduction of hyperactivation of microglia and astrocytes. These results suggest that AUR/NGIN-rich juice of C. kawachiensis may possess therapeutic potential for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases via inhibition of inflammatory processes.