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Neuroprotective effects of the antiparkinson drug Mucuna pruriens
Author(s) -
Manyam Bala V.,
Dhanasekaran Muralikrishnan,
Hare Theodore A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.1514
Subject(s) - mucuna pruriens , substantia nigra , parkinson's disease , pharmacology , levodopa , dopamine , dopaminergic , medicine , traditional medicine , disease
Mucuna pruriens possesses signicantly higher antiparkinson activity compared with levodopa in the 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease. The present study evaluated the neurorestorative effect of Mucuna pruriens cotyledon powder on the nigrostriatal tract of 6‐OHDA lesioned rats. Mucuna pruriens cotyledon powder signicantly increased the brain mitochondrial complex‐I activity but did not affect the total monoamine oxidase activity ( in vitro ). Unlike synthetic levodopa treatment, Mucuna pruriens cotyledon powder treatment signicantly restored the endogenous levodopa, dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin content in the substantia nigra. Nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and coenzyme Q‐10, that are shown to have a therapeutic benet in Parkinson's disease, were present in the Mucuna pruriens cotyledon powder. Earlier studies showed that Mucuna pruriens treatment controls the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This additional nding of a neurorestorative benet by Mucuna pruriens cotyledon powder on the degenerating dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra may be due to increased complex‐I activity and the presence of NADH and coenzyme Q‐10. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.