Research Article Neuroprotective Effects of a Variety of Pomegranate Juice Extracts against MPTP-Induced Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Human Primary Neurons

Copyright © 2013 Nady Braidy et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is an environmental toxin which selectively induces oxidative damage and mitochondrial and proteasomal dysfunctions to dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra leading to Parkinsonian syndrome in animal models and humans. MPTP is one of the most widely used in vitromodels to investigate the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and, screen for novel therapeutic compounds that can slow down or ameliorate this progressive degenerative disease. We investigated the therapeutic effect of pomegranate juice extracts (PJE), Helow, Malasi, Qusum, and Hamadh against MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in primary human neurons by examining extracellular LDH activity, intracellular NAD+ and ATP levels, and endogenous antioxidant levels including lipid peroxidation products, catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathion