Ginseng could be a promising treatment in Parkinson's disease. - GreenMedInfo Summary

OBJECTIVE: Korean red ginseng was reported to have many biological effects like the antioxidant and the anti-inflammatory activities. Oxidative stress and neuro-inflammation play major roles in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The current study aimed to investigate the protective effects of ginseng on rotenone-induced PD in rats.

METHODS: Rats were randomly allocated into 4 groups: normal rats, rotenone control, ginseng+rotenone and ginseng only treated rats. The severity of PD was evaluated through locomotor activity perceived in the open field test, histological examination and immunohistochemical detection of amyloid-β in brain tissues, in addition to the biochemical assessment of tyrosine hydroxylase activity in brain tissues. Moreover, the following parameters were investigated for studying the possible mechanisms of ginseng neuroprotective effect: nuclear factor-κβ (NF-κβ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), caspase- 3, lipid peroxides and reduced glutathione (GSH).

RESULTS: Ginseng exhibited potent neuroprotective effect that was reflected upon the histopathological examination, marked improvement in the locomotor activity and through its ability to suppress the amyloid-β deposition in the cortex and striatum along with significant increase in the tyrosine hydroxylase activity. Ginseng successfully inhibited the NF-κβ inflammatory pathway in brain tissues beside the inhibition of other oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators. Furthermore, it exhibited antiapoptotic effect via the inhibition of caspase-3 expression.

CONCLUSION: Ginseng could be a promising treatment in PD. It can suppress dopaminergic neuron degeneration through variable mechanisms mainly via inhibition of NF-κβ pathway in addition to inhibition of oxidative stress and apoptosis.