Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 441, Issue 1, 15 August 2008, Pages 16-20
Neuroscience Letters

Neuroprotective effect of baicalein against MPTP neurotoxicity: Behavioral, biochemical and immunohistochemical profile

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2008.05.116Get rights and content

Abstract

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) causes the damage of dopaminergic neurons as seen in Parkinson's disease (PD). Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Baicalein, isolated from the traditional Chinese herbal medicine Huangqin (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi), has been shown to have antioxidant effects. Here we investigated the effect of baicalein on MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in mice. Pretreatment with baicalein for a week was followed by challenge with MPTP for 4 consecutive days; the subsequent behavioral, biochemical and immunohistochemical manifestations in mice were determined and compared to those in untreated mice and mice challenged only with MPTP. The present study showed that baicalein could improve the abnormal behavior in MPTP-treated mice. The protective effect may be caused by increasing the levels of DA and 5-HT in the striatum, increasing the counts of dopaminergic neurons, inhibiting oxidative stress and the astroglia response. These results suggest that baicalein possesses potent neuroprotective activity and may be a potential anti-Parkinson's disease drug that is worthy of further study.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30772749). We are grateful to Dr. Stephen C. Hadler for critically reading this paper.

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