Curcumin as a Potential Treatment in Parkinson’s Disease Cathy Xiong
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by the misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins, the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), along with motor deficits and nonmotor symptoms (Balestrino & Schapira, 2020; Klingelhoefer & Reichmann, 2015). There is currently no cure for PD and treatments mainly use dopamine substitutes or deep brain stimulation to treat the motor symptoms (Connolly & Lang, 2014; Okun, 2012). Many studies were investigating potential therapeutic uses of the natural substances derived from plants (Scapagnini et al., 2011). Curcumin, a common ingredient in curry as turmeric, is known to be an antioxidizing and anti-inflammatory agent (Sharma, Gescher, & Steward, 2005). The current study by Khatri and Juvekar (2016) administrated rotenone in mice to produce the Parkinsonian symptoms and tried to combat it with curcumin. The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of curcumin on reversing the damage done by rotenone in mice using behavioural and biochemical examinations. The rotenone treated mice performed poorly on the rotarod test and were less mobile in the actophotometer and open field test compared to the control mice. The administration of rotenone also increased the levels of lipid peroxidation and nitrite, and activity of acetylcholinesterase, and decreased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and mitochondrial complex enzymes. Results revealed that curcumin treated mice restored the negative effect of rotenone on both motor and cognitive functions and improved the impairment on oxidative defence and enzyme activities in mitochondrial complexes. Keywords: Parkinson’s disease (PD), rotenone, curcumin, motor deficits, antioxidant, mitochondrial complex, mice model
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