Purpose This study was conducted to determine whether paeoniflorin could prevent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress in ARPE-19 cells and to elucidate the molecular pathways involved in this protection.

Methods Cultured ARPE-19 cells were subjected to oxidative stress with H2O2 in the presence and absence of paeoniflorin. The preventive effective of paeoniflorin on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and RPE cell death induced by H2O2 was determined by H2DCFDA fluorescence and MTT assay. The ability of paeoniflorin to protect RPE cells against ROS-mediated apoptosis was assessed by caspase-3 activity and DAPI staining. Furthermore, the protective effect of paeoniflorin via the MAPK pathway was determined by Western blot analysis.

Results Paeoniflorin protect ARPE-19 cells from H2O2 induced cell death with low toxicity. H2O2 induced oxidative stress increased ROS production and caspase-3 activity, which was significantly inhibited by paeoniflorin in a dose dependent manner. Pretreatment with paeoniflorin attenuated H2O2 induced p38MAPK and ERK phosphorylation in human RPE cells, which contributed to cell viability in ARPE-19 cells.

Conclusions This is the first report to show that paeoniflorin can protect ARPE-19 cells from the cellular apoptosis induced by oxidative stress. The results of this study open new avenues for the use of paeoniflorin in treatment of ocular disease like AMD where oxidative stress plays a major role in disease pathogenesis.