Society population is gradually moving towards aging. Relatively, demand for the treatment of diseases of aging on the health care system has become more climb. The most common age-related neurodegenerative diseases are Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). PD was found to be the loss of dopaminergic in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in brain. Oral administration of levodopa remains the gold standard therapy for PD which is only effective for symptomatic relief during early stage of PD. Therefore, there is a great demand for developing a new therapy for PD. Although the mechanisms responsible for dopaminergic death are not fully understood, accumulating evidence from studies suggests that oxidative stress plays the key role in initiating this cell death process. The presence of antioxidants protected against neuronal degeneration in dopamine neuron. Our research group had used dioscorea as the substract to ferment Monascus purpureus, and found that red mold dioscorea has the antioxidants: dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen. Hence, the study will use red mold dioscorea-fermented secondary metabolites to evaluate the improving effect on PD. In the present study, we found intercellur reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased after treatment with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in differentiated PC-12 cells. 6-OHDA induced apoptosis in differentiated PC-12 cells was mediated by caspase-3 activation. Monascus-fermented metabolites dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen reduced 6-OHDA-induced formation of ROS and apoptosis in differentiated PC-12 cells. We also found that dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen inhibited 6-OHDA-induced activation of caspase-3 in differentiated PC-12 cultures challenged with 6-OHDA. Dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen may protect against 6-OHDA toxicity by anti-ROS and anti-apoptosis. We anticipate that the metabolites from Monascus fermentation may serve as a functional food for the PD.

Neuroprotective effects of <i>Monascus</i>-fermented products against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced neurotoxicity in differentiated PC-12 cells

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Neuroprotective effects of Monascus-fermented products against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced neurotoxicity in differentiated PC-12 cells