Abstract

Background: The formation of Lewy bodies is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the neuronal damage specifically the dopaminergic neurons in the Parkinson’s disease patients. Hence any agent that could curtail the production of ROS /oxidative stress could act as a possible therapeutic agent thereby preventing the neuronal damage.

Method: In the present study, we first evaluated the antioxidant potential of myricetin by performing superoxide anion scavenging and diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assays. Myricetin at a final concentration of 10, 20 and 40µM was mixed in diet and the PD flies were allowed to feed on it for 24 days. After 24 days of exposure, the dopamine content was estimated in brain and the immunohistochemistry was performed for the tyroxine hydroxylase activity on the brain sections from each group.

Results: Myricetin showed a dose-dependent increase in the antioxidative activity. The exposure of PD flies to 10, 20 and 40µM of Myricetin not only showed a dose-dependent significant increase in the dopamine content compared to unexposed PD flies (p<0.05), but also prevented the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain of PD flies.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the antioxidative potential of myricetin is responsible for preventing the loss of dopaminergic neurons and dopamine content.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease, myricetin, dopamine content, dopaminergic neurons, immuno histochemistry, drosophila.