Abstract

PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF PIPER LONGUM FRUIT EXTRACT AGAINST 3-NITRO PROPIONIC ACID INDUCED HUNTINGTON’S DISEASE IN ALBINO RATS

Blessy Elizabath Joseph* and Shan P. Mohammed

ABSTRACT

Huntington’s disease or Huntington’s chorea is a hereditary disorder of central nervous system characterised by progressive chorea, psychiatric or behavioural disorders and dementia. Huntington’s disease mainly affect the basal ganglia in the brain. 3-Nitro propionic acid, a potent neurotoxin is reliable for studying HD because it mimics a downstream process of cell death as seen in the HD brain. The study was designed to investigate the protective effects of Ethanolic extract of Piper longum Linn. against 3-NP-induced neurotoxicity. Intraperitoneal administration of 3-NitroPropionic acid (10 mg/kg for 14 days) caused a decline in motor function (locomotor activity and impaired rotarod activity). Treatment with Piper longum spike extracts (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) for two weeks dose-dependently improved 3-Nitropropionic acid induced behavioral, biochemical, and enzymatic changes. Biochemical estimations revealed that administration of Piper longum ethanolic extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) dose-dependently restored biochemical alterations induced by 3-Nitro propionic acid treatment. These findings suggest that the protective actions of Piper longum might be associated with the property of antioxidation. However, further studies are required to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in order to support the clinical use of the plant extract as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of Huntington’s disease.

Keywords: Antioxidant, Huntington’s disease, 3-nitropropionic acid, Piper longum.