Neuroprotective effects of voluntary wheel running and eriobotrya japonica flower extract on Parkinsonian rats

The loss of dopamine-secreting cells and the decrease in the status of antioxidant is associated with incidents of Parkinson s disease. The purpose of the present study was to determine the protective effect of a 12- weeks voluntary wheel running (VWR) along with the injection of eriobotrya japonica flower extract (EJFE, 200 mg/kg body weight, 3 days a week) on cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the cerebral cortex of a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). To do so, the rats were trained for 12 weeks with and without EJFE prior to the induction of Parkinson. In order to obtain the Parkinsonian model, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) (5 µL) was injected intracerebrally. Data were statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by LSD post-hoc test (P 0.05). 6-OHDA injection significantly decreased the CDNF contents, and SOD activity while it increased MDA levels in cerebral cortex of the Parkinsonian control group. The pre-training of PD rats with and without EJFE increased the CDNF content and SOD activity and also decreased MDA levels. Preconditioning by VWR and EJFE may be effective in reducing the consequences of toxins resulted in Parkinson s disease.