Figure 9.

Monoterpene hydrocarbons could be involved in the neuroprotection afforded by BEO against NMDA-induced cell death. SH-SY5Y cultures were incubated with a bergapten-free extract of the essence (BEO-BF (a)) or with a fraction of the oil deprived of bergapten and of monoterpene hydrocarbons (BEO-BF/HF (b)) for 60 min before application of 1 mM NMDA and cell death was assessed by trypan blue exclusion assay 24 h later. (a) BEO-BF, but not (b) BEO-BF/HF, concentration dependently reduced NMDA-induced cell death. Each value is the mean±s.e.m. of 4–8 experiments. ^***P<0.001 vs control; ^###P<0.001 vs NMDA given alone (ANOVA followed by Tukey–Kramer multiple comparisons test).