title: Morinda citrifolia mitigates rotenone-induced striatal neuronal loss in male Sprague-Dawley rats by preventing mitochondrial pathway of intrinsic apoptosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting mainly the motor system, as a result of death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The present scenario of research in PD is directed to identify novel molecules that can be administered individually or co-administered with L-Dopa to prevent the L-Dopa-Induced Dyskinesia (LID) like states that arise during chronic L-Dopa administration. Hence, in this study, we investigated whether Morinda citrifolia has therapeutic effects in rotenone-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) with special reference to mitochondrial dysfunction mediated intrinsic apoptosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats were stereotaxically infused with rotenone (3 µg in both SNPc and VTA) and co-treated with the ethyl acetate extract of Morinda citrifolia and levodopa.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed that rotenone-induced cell death was reduced by MCE treatment as measured by decline in the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins. Moreover, MCE treatment significantly augmented the levels of anti-apoptotic Bcl2 and blocks the release of cytochrome c, thereby alleviating the rotenone-induced dopaminergic neuronal loss, as evidenced by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunostaining in the striatum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, the results suggest that Morinda citrifolia may be beneficial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like PD.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Biochemistry , University of Madras , Taramani, Chennai , India.
authors.forename: S Narasimhan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2208-0809
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Kishore Kumar
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Biochemistry , University of Madras , Taramani, Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Jayakumar
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5270-2651
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deepthy
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Biochemistry , University of Madras , Taramani, Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Uthamaraman
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Saraswathi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Biochemistry , University of Madras , Taramani, Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5000-8911
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thangarajeswari
authors.affiliation: b Department of Anatomy , University of Madras , Taramani, Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Sathyamoorthy
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5592-4783
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yogesh Kanna
authors.affiliation: c Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute , Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Pannerselvam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ezhil
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Biochemistry , University of Madras , Taramani, Chennai , India.
authors.forename: Periandavan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5270-2651
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kalaiselvi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D032066:Morinda / Q000737:chemistry*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012402:Rotenone / Q000633:toxicity*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D012402:Rotenone
keywords: Bax/Bcl2; Morinda citrifolia; Parkinson’s disease; cytochrome c; dopaminergic neurons; rotenone