and low-dose whole-body g-irradiation in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. The present study was undertaken to investigate the pretreatment effects of standardized Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb7611) and low-dose whole-body g-irradiation on the neurological dysfunction in the reserpinemodel of PD. MaleWistar rats were pretreated orally with EGb761 or fractionated low-dose whole-body g-irradiation or their combination, then subjected to intraperitoneal injectionof reserpine (5mg/kg bodyweight) 24h after the final dose of EGb761 or radiation. Reserpine injection resulted in the depletion of striatal dopamine (DA) level, increased catalepsy score, increasedoxidative stress indicated viadepletion of glutathione (GSH), increasedmalondialdehyde (MDA) and iron levels, decreased DAmetabolites metabolizing enzymes; indicated by inhibition by glutathione-S-transferase, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-quinone oxidoreductase (NQO) activi-ties, mitochondrial dysfunction; indicated by declined complex I activity, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level and increased apoptosis; indicated bydecreasedmitochondrial B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) protein level andby trans-mission electron microscope. EGb761 and low-dose g-radiation ameliorated the reserpine-induced state of oxi-dative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis in brain. It can be concluded that EGb761, a widely used herbal medicine and low dose of g-irradiation have protective effects for combating Parkinsonism possibly via replenishment of GSH levels