A study on the potential protective effect of indole-3-carbinol against rotenone-induced Parkinson’s disease in rats

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder and one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders. Clinically, PD is characterized by motor dysfunction; such as resting tremors, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural reflex impairment, as well as psychiatric symptoms including anxiety and depression and autonomic dysfunction manifestoes; such as hypotension and constipation. It is also characterized by paresthesia, cramps, olfactory dysfunction, and seborrheic dermatitis. Additionally, PD is distinguished from other disorders by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the presence of intraneuronal cytoplasmic Lewy bodies.

Rotenone is an isoflavone used as a broad-spectrum pesticide that can easily cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). ROT has been used widely before to model PD in rodents because it is considered as a selective mitochondrial complex І inhibitor, thus it causes selective degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway and α-Synuclein aggregation.

Indole-3-carbinol is a naturally-occurring compound by the enzymatic breakdown of glucosinolate glucobrassicin found in cruciferous vegetables; such as broccoli and brussels sprouts. It has been proposed that I3C has chemopreventive properties, anti-tumor activity, and anti-inflammatory and powerful anti-oxidant effects.

It was mentioned that overexpression of sirtuin1 (SIRT1) attenuates inflammation by suppressing NF-κB signaling pathway, and downregulates the expression of p53, which means that SIRT1 might be involved in the apoptosis suppressive effects.