Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related disease in which dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway are destroyed, resulting in movement and behavioral problems. Oxidative stress and the generation of reactive oxygen species play key roles in neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD. Rotenone (ROT) is a common pesticide that induces oxidative stress. Olive leaves extract (OLE) has antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of OLE on ROT-induced oxidative stress in the midbrain of a rat model of PD. Ninety-six Wistar rats were randomly divided into the following 6 groups (n = 16 rats/group): Control, Sham, ROT, and 3 ROT + OLE (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg/daily) groups. ROT (2.5 mg/kg/48 h) was injected subcutaneously, and vehicle or OLE was orally administered for 30 days. The animals were then sacrificed, and their brains were removed. Biochemical measures, including the levels of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA), and the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons were determined, and behavioral (rotarod and hanging) tests were conducted. The balance and muscle strength of the OLE (150 and 300 mg/kg)-treated groups were significantly improved. Treatment with OLE prevented the increases in the levels of MDA, significantly improved the SOD, CAT, and GPx levels in the midbrain, and prevented the depletion of the TH-positive neurons. These findings suggested that OLE has neuroprotective properties and that it might be useful for preventing the death of dopaminergic neurons in patients with PD.

The present study was carried out to investigate the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic properties of hydroalcoholic extract of Peganum harmala in streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats. In an experimental study, 64 normal Wistar albino male rats (200–230 g) were randomly divided into 8 groups. Control and diabetic rats were treated with normal saline and three different doses (30, 60, and 120 mg/kg) of hydroalcoholic extract of Peganum harmala seeds for 4 weeks orally. At the end of treatment, blood samples were taken and glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-c, HDL-c, malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TCA), ALT, AST, GGT, bilirubin, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) were determined. STZ-induced diabetic rats showed significant changes in the values of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-c, MDA, TAC, ALT, AST, GGT, bilirubin, and HbA1C in comparison with normal rats. Administration of the extract to diabetic rats resulted in a remarkable decrease in glucose, lipid profiles, MDA, ALT, AST, GGT, bilirubin, and HbA1C levels and increase in TAC relative to diabetic group. The results of this study indicated that hydroalcoholic extract of Peganum harmala seeds possesses antidiabetic and hypolipidemic activities and could be useful in treatment of diabetes.

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Background: Ginger is a medicinal plant with wide use around the world which has several therapeutic implications especially in gastrointestinal discomfort such as dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

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Background: Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in developed countries. Recent studies have showed that there is a relation between neuron loss in Parkinson's disease and L-type calcium channel activity in pars compacta of substantia nigra. Therefore, it seems that calcium channel blockers can effect on this disease. Objectives: In this study, we evaluate the protective and therapeutic effects of isradipine on experimental Parkinson's model in rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 63 rats were allocated randomly in seven group including: intact, control, sham operated, lesion and lesion treated by 0.1, 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg dosage of isradipine. L-type calcium channel blocker, isradipine was subcutaneously injected to treated rats in the doses of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg/day, for four weeks, starting the day after a unilateral nigrostriatal 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA) lesion. Rotational tests with apomorphine and rigidity tests were conducted on all animal groups one week before the lesion experiments and four weeks after. Results: Administration of isradipine (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks) decreased mean of rotation number and muscular rigidity score significantly compared with control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: This study showed that isradipine has a therapeutic effect in a dose dependent manner on Parkinson's disease in rats.