Ligustilide prevents the apoptosis effects of tumour necrosis factor-alpha during C2C12 cell differentiation

• Ligustilide prevented the apoptosis of C2C12 cells assessed by apoptosis index.
• Ligustilide decreased apoptotic DNA fragmentation compared with TNF-α-control groups.
• Ligustilide increased bcl-2/bax ratio and pro-caspase 3 and 8 expressions against TNF-α.
• Ligustilide increased level of phosphorylated Akt expression against apoptosis.

Ligustilide, the major component of Angelica sinensis, is also thought to be the most potent bioactive constituent of this plant. Ligustilide has been reported to markedly protect neural tissue against apoptosis. However, little is known regarding ligustilide's anti-apoptosis effect in muscle tissue. The aim of the study was to investigate the anti-apoptosis effects of ligustilide on TNF-α-induced C2C12 cells during differentiation. It was revealed that ligustilide at various concentrations significantly prevented the apoptosis of C2C12 cells incubated in TNF-α as assessed by apoptosis index and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, ligustilide-treated groups exhibited a significant increase in the bcl-2/bax ratio, pro-caspase 3 and pro-caspase 8 compared with the TNF-α-control group in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, ligustilide-treated groups presented a significantly increased level of phosphorylated Akt and suppressed expression of the myogenin protein. Therefore, the findings derived suggested that ligustilide protected C2C12 cells from TNF-α-induced apoptosis during differentiation by reducing apoptosis and inducing cell proliferation.