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Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration ofdopaminergic neurons and a biochemical reduction of striatal dopamine levels. Despite the lack of fully understanding of theetiology of Parkinson’s disease, accumulating evidences suggest that Parkinson’s disease may be caused by the insufficient supportof neurotrophic factors, and by microglial activation, resident immune cells in the brain. Naringin, a major flavonone glycoside ingrapefruits and citrus fruits, is considered as a protective agent against neurodegenerative diseases because it can induce not onlyanti-oxidant effects but also neuroprotective effects by the activation of anti-apoptotic pathways and the induction of neurotrophicfactors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor. We have recently reported that naringinhas neuroprotective effects in a neurotoxin model of Parkinson’s disease. Our observations show that intraperitoneal injection ofnaringin induces increases in glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor expression and mammalian target of rapamycin complex1 activity in dopaminergic neurons of rat brains with anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, the production of glial cell line-derivedneurotrophic factor by naringin treatment contributes to the protection of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic projection in a neurotoxinmodel of Parkinson’s disease. Although the effects of naringin on the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system in human brains are largelyunknown, these results suggest that naringin may be a beneficial natural product for the prevention of dopaminergic degenerationin the adult brain.
