OBJECTIVETo investigate the neuroprotective potential of lycopene on oxidative stress and neurobehavioral abnormalities in rotenone induced Parkinson' disease (PD).

METHODSForty adult C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10): control, lycopene (10 mg/kg body weight, orally), rotenone (3 mg/kg bw, intraperitoneally) and rotenone plus lycopene, which were sacrificed for 5 weeks. The spectrophotometry was used to determine the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in substantia nigra and right striatum. At the same time, the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), alpha-synuclein (alpha-SYN) and microtubule-associated protein 3 light chain (LC3-B) positive neurons were estimated by immunohistochemistry. We also examined neurobehavioral abnormalities by WT-200 water maze.

RESULTSRotenone administration increased the MDA levels and significantly decreased the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT. However, lycopene administration to the rotenone treated animals increased the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT when compared to rotenone treated animals in substantia nigra and right striatum. The cognitive and motor deficits in rotenone administered animals, which were reversed on lycopene treatment. Along with this, the number of TH decreased, alpha-SYN increased and LC3-B positive neurons increased in rotenone administered animals, which were reversed on lycopene treatment.

CONCLUSIONCollectively, these observations provide an evidence for beneficial effect of lycopene supplementation in rotenone-induced PD and suggest therapeutic potential in neurodegenerative diseases involving accentuated oxidative stress.