Protective action of the extract of blueberry leaves against glutamate excitotoxicity on neurons of the rat cerebral cortex

The aqueous extract of blueberry leaves inhibits the glutamate-induced Ca2+ influx into the synaptosomes of rat brain neurons and the IC50 value of this process is close to the IC50 for MK-801, a well-known noncompetitive antagonist of glutamate NMDA subtype receptors. The aqueous extract of blueberry leaves protected the cultured neurons of the rat cerebral cortex from the neurotoxic effect of glutamate, and the inhibition intensity depended on the incubation time with the extract.