Hepatoprotective Effects of Betaine Against Oxidative Stress Induced by Levodopa and Benserazide in Rats

Introduction: Betaine has been demonstrated to have methyl donor and antioxidant properties in our previous reports. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine plasma homocysteine concentration and evaluate antioxidant activity of betaine following levodopa and benserazide administration, which routinely are used in treatment of Parkinson’s disease in liver of rats. Methods: Sprague–Dawley male rats were treated by levodopa (LD), Betaine (Bet.), levodopa plus betaine (LD/Bet.), levodopa plus benserazide (LD/Ben.), levodopa plus betaine-benserazide (LD/Bet.-Ben.) and distilled water to controls for 10 consecutive days, orally. Plasma homocysteine concentration was measured by ELISA method. Moreover, antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation amount were measured via chemical methods. Serumic dopamine concentration was also determined by HPLC method and data were analyzed by One-way ANOVA test. Results: The study results indicated that the treatment of rats with levodopa and benserazide significantly increased total homocysteine (tHcy) in plasma of the LD/Ben. group in comparison with the other groups (p