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Background: Piperine (PIP) is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory alkaloid which has been widely used in the treatment of various pathological conditions. However, few studies have clearly discussed the protective effects and potential mechanism of PIP in different neurological diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effect of PIP against 3-nitropropioninc acid (3-NP) induced neurobehavioral, biochemical and histopathological alterations in animals. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1, the vehicle administered control group, received normal saline (p.o.). Group 2 received 3-NP (20 mg/kg.b.wt., i.p.) for 4 consecutive days. Group 3 received PIP (10 mg/kg.b.wt., p.o.) twice daily for a period of 4 days, 30 min before and 6 h after the 3-NP injection. Upon termination of treatment schedule, behavioral experiments were performed to access the behavioral outcomes. The brain striatal tissue was used for the estimation of monoamine oxidase activity and serotonin level. In addition, astrocytes activation was observed by GFAP immunostaining. Results: Our results showed that 3-NP induced behavioral impairments are attenuated by PIP co-treatment. Next, the extent of neuronal loss and astrocytes activation was reduced in the striatal brain region in PIP treated rats. Finally, it was observed that PIP alleviated the behavioral, biochemical, immunohistochemical and histological alterations. Conclusion: The results of the current study reveal the neuroprotective competency of PIP against Huntington disease like symptoms in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive mitochondrial fission has been implicated in the etiology of neuronal cell death in traumatic brain injury (TBI). In the present study, we examined the efficacy of melatonin (Mel) as a neuroprotective agent against TBI-induced oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. We assessed the impact of Mel post-treatment (10 mg/kg b.wt., i.p.) at different time intervals in TBI-subjected Wistar rats. We found that the Mel treatment significantly attenuated brain edema, oxidative damage, mitochondrial fission, and promoted mitochondrial fusion. Additionally, Mel-treated rats showed restoration of mitochondrial membrane potential and oxidative phosphorylation with a concomitant reduction in cytochrome-c release. Further, Mel treatment significantly inhibited the translocation of Bax and Drp1 proteins to mitochondria in TBI-subjected rats. The restorative role of Mel treatment in TBI rats was supported by the mitochondrial ultra-structural analysis, which showed activation of mitochondrial fusion mechanism. Mel enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis by upregulation of PGC-1α protein. Our results demonstrated the remedial role of Mel in ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunctions that are modulated in TBI-subjected rats and provided support for mitochondrial-mediated neuroprotection as a putative therapeutic agent in the brain trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inheritance neurodegenerative disorder. 3-Nitropropanoic acid (3-NP) is a mitochondrial toxin that induces HD-like symptoms and thus serves as a good experimental model of HD. Chrysin (5, 7-dihydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonoid that have multiple biological activities. The present work was aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective efficacy of Chrysin in rat brain, under the influence of 3-NP treatment, by studying neurobehavioral and biochemical alterations alongwith histo-architectural changes. Male Wistar rats (220–250 g) were used in the study and were divided into three groups following randomization. Each group comprised of nine animals. Group I animals served as control group and administered with normal saline (orally) as vehicle. Animals of Group II were treated with 3-NP for four successive days, at the dose of 20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.). Animals that received Chrysin for the period of four consecutive days with the dose of 50 mg/kg, orally twice daily (30 min pre-treatment and 6 h post-treatment) following 3-NP administration served as Group III. After the treatment regime, animals were evaluated for neurobehavioral alterations and brain homogenates were used for estimation of neurotoxicity marker activity and neurotransmitter level along with histological assessment. The significant alteration in neurobehavioral, biochemical and neuronal structure in striatal part of brain was observed in the 3-NP administered (Group II) animals. It was observed that co-treatment of Chrysin with 3-NP treated rats the rotarod performance, grip strength, stride length as well as monoamine oxidase activity and serotonin levels were elevated. The results of this study reveal that Chrysin treatment alleviated the neurobehavioral, biochemical and histological alterations against HD symptoms in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]