Protective Effect of Carvacrol in 6-hydroxydopamine Hemi-parkinsonian Rat Model

A huge amount of investigational evidence support a role for oxidative stress as an intermediary of nerve cell dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Polyphenols such as carvacrol have been indicated to prevent neuronal deterioration caused by increased oxidative load, thus, this study evaluated whether carvacrol administration would attenuate behavioral abnormalities in an animal model of PD. In this study, unilateral intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine injected rats were daily pretreated with carvacrol (10 mg/kg) started three days before the surgery. Apomorphine-induced rotations and level of stress oxidative markers in the midbrain were assessed after 2 weeks. Carvacrol administration lessened the rotation number in lesioned rats. Also, carvacrol decreased the 6-OHDA-induced malondialdehyde and nitrite level and intensified the antioxidant enzyme catalase, indicative of a protective effect against lipid peroxidation and free radicals synthesis. In summary, carvacrol shows a protective effect against 6-OHDA neurotoxicity, partly through attenuating oxidative stress.