) Musa acuminata Colla Millsp ameliorates paraquat-induced memory deficit and oxidative stress in murine Parkinson disease model

Abstract

Background: Parkinson disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and remains an unmet medical need. A number of epidemiological as well as case-control studies have revealed an association between pesticide exposure, especially that of paraquat (PQ) and occurrence of Musa acuminata Colla (Musaceae) also known as banana is widely cultivated for its delicious fruits and is one of the most economically important crops in the world. This study was designed to investigate the protective effffect of M. acuminata fruit extract (MAC) on paraquat-induced Parkinsonism in mice. Methods: Sixty male albino mice were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=10) and treated as follows for 21 consecutive days; Group 1: vehicle control (10 ml/kg, p.o.), group 2: vehicle + paraquat 10 mg/kg, i.p., group 3: MAC (400 mg/kg, p.o), groups 4-6: MAC (100, 200 or 400 mg/kg, p.o.) + paraquat, respectively. Behavioural studies (rotarod, Y-maze, open fifield test and bar test) were carried out on weekly basis. On day 21, one hour post-treatment the midbrains were isolated for biochemical estimation of oxidative stress parameters. Results: MAC (100, 200 or 400 mg/kg) failed to reverse paraquat induced signifificant decrease in latency to fall in rotarod test. Similarly, MAC did not affffect paraquat-induced decrease in locomotor activity in open fifield test. MAC prevented paraquat-induced decrease in percent alternation behaviour in Y-maze task. Conversely, MAC aggravated paraquat-induced cataleptic behaviour in bar test. The pretreatment of mice with MAC (200 or 400 mg/kg) signifificantly reversed paraquat-induced oxidative stress parameters in the midbrain. Conclusion: Findings from this study showed that M. acuminata prevented paraquat-induced memory impairment through improvement in antioxidant defense mechanism but failed to reverse paraquat induced locomotor defificit and cataleptic behaviour.