Abstract
A neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is known to induce parkinsonism in rodents and human via dopaminergic cell death by a common oxidative mechanism. To find whether a neurotoxin-induced neurotoxicity is prevented by the treatment with an antioxidant, we investigated the effects of ginsenoside Rb1, a major saponin from Panax ginseng, on lipid peroxidaton and neurotoxicity induced by MPTP in mice using chemiluminescense-HPLC. Levels of lipid hydroperoxides in plasma and liver were increased by MPTP treatment, but the increased levels of this were not observed in mice pretreated with ginsenoside Rb1. Activities of protein kinase C and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase in the pretreated group with ginsenoside Rb1 were lower than in MPTP groups. Treatment with ginsenoside Rb1 was, however, less effective in suppressing the influence of MPTP on the levels of dopamine and its metabolite, homovanillic acid in the striatum of mice brain. These results indicate that ginsenoside Rb1 has an antioxidant effect and may not have the ability enough to suppress the neurotoxicity induced by MPTP.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, JS., Oh, JH., Lee, DW. et al. Effect of ginsenoside Rb1 on lipid peroxidation and neurotoxicity induced by MPTP in liver and brain of mouse. Exp Mol Med 28, 199–205 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.1996.31
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.1996.31