Protective effect of methanolic extract of Garcinia indica fruits in 6-OHDA rat model of Parkinsons disease

Context: Several studies have reported that antioxidants play an important role in Parkinsons disease (PD). Garcinia indica extract is a natural antioxidant, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of methanolic extract of Garcinia indica (GIM) against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) neurotoxicity for striatal dopaminergic neurons in the rat. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups namely control, 6-OHDA model, and GIM (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight suspended in one ml of 0.1 carboxymethyl cellulose). The treatment was started three days before surgery and continued for next 14 days. The surgery was done on third day in all groups for administration of 6-OHDA into the right striatum and right substantia nigra, whereas control group injected with 6-OHDA vehicle. Various behavior and biochemical tests (Apomorphine-induced rotational behavior, Stepping test, Initiation time, Postural balance test, and Disengage time) were used to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of GIM. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnetts test was used to compare inter-group differences. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: GIM had significant (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) preventive effect in biochemical tests, i.e., dopamine and its metabolites measurement and in various behavior tests, i.e., apomorphine-induced rotational behavior, stepping test, initiation time, postural balance test, and disengage time as compared to 6-OHDA-treated rats. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that GIM acted as an effective neuroprotective agent for striatal dopaminergic neurons in 6-OHDA lesioned rat model of PD.