Silymarin, Melatonin Offer Neuroprotection

LUCKNOW, IndiaThe antioxidants melatonin and silymarin reduced induced neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Parkinsons disease (J Pineal Res. ePub 21 Oct 2010. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-079X.2010.00819.x). Researchers from the Indian Institute of Toxicology examined the effects of silymarin and melatonin in maneb- (MB) and paraquat- (PQ) induced mouse models of Parkinsons disease. The mice were treated intraperitoneally with silymarin (40 mg/kg/d) or melatonin (30 mg/kg/d) for nine weeks; subsets of animals were also treated with MB (30 mg/kg) and PQ (10 mg/kg), twice a week, two hours after the antioxidant treatment.

Silymarin and melatonin significantly offset MB- and PQ-mediated reductions in locomotor activities, dopamine content, tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity and 2mRNA expression of the vesicular monoamine transporter. The intervention also attenuated increases in lipid peroxidation, the number of degenerating neurons, nitrite content and expressions of several apoptotic cytochromes and proteins. The researchers concluded silymarin and melatonin offered neuroprotection of the dopaminergic neurons by modulating oxidative stress levels and apoptotic machinery.