Protective role of Standardized Hypericum perforatum on rotenone-induced Parkinson and apoptosis of adults rats

J Benedi1, MI Sanchez-Reus2, MA Gomez del Rio1, I Iglesias1. 1Universidad Complutense Madrid, Farmacologia, 28040, Spain, 2Universidad Complutense Mad, Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular, 28040, Spain

St. John’s Wort (SJW) is, well known for its antidepressant effects. Relatively recently, it has been shown to have nootropic effects against neurodegenerative disorders. Our study was designed to investigate the protective role of chronic administration of two standardized extract of Hypericum perforatum (SHP 1 standardized to 0.3 % in hypericins and rich in hyperforin (6 %) and SHP 2 extract poor in hyperforin (0.2 %) on the neurodegeneration induced by chronic administration of rotenone. Quercetin in liposomes, one active constituent, was tested in the same experimental conditions to serve as a positive control- Adult male Wistar rats (150 g, n=6-8 per group) were the subjects of this study. The animals received pre-treatments with SHP 1 (4 mg/Kg, ip), SHP 2 (4 mg/Kg, ip) or quercetin determinate the metabolic activity in substantia nigra and striatum of rats. Neurochemical evaluation of neuronal injury in vitro was determinated by cresyl violet staining and DOPA levels quantification by HPLC. Biochemical assessments of caspase 3 and Bcl2, Bax and p53 level/expressions, as apoptosis indices, were performed. One-way and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Student-Newman-Keuls post hoc analysis was used to compare the treatment groups. In the SHP1-pretreated group, striatal dopamine level and metabolic activity in the substantia nigra and striatum significantly improved, thereby demonstrating the efficacy of extract Hypericum enriched with hyperforin. In addition, SHP1 extract diminishes the levels of Bax more effectively than SHP2. It is possible that hiperforin plays an important role in the regulation of this protein. Hypericum extracts enriched with hyperforin would be free of major side effects compared with other nootropic medications. It is concluded that standardized extracts of Hypericum perforatum has antioxidant active ingredients that could help reduce the neuronal degeneration caused by the Parkinson’s disease.