A recent study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience reports beneficial effects of the tobacco cembranoid, β-cembrenediol for Parkinson’s Diesease (PD). Researchers report encouraging results in both in vitro and in vivo 6-hydroxydopamine PD model, a model that mimics the long-term neurodegeneration found in PD-affected brain tissue.
The researchers found that when co-administered with 6-hydroxydopamine, β-cembrenediol increased cell viability of neuro-2a cells to 80% of control levels, compared to only 55% viability in cells treated only with 6-hydroxydopamine. β-cembrenediol also returned phosphorylated Akt and HAX-1 protein to levels near untreated cells. It also decreased the amount of cleaved caspase-3 found in 6-hydroxydopamine treated cells.
Additionally, the researchers performed two motor tests of rat models with 6-hydroxydopamine. Sprague-Dawley rats treated with 6-hydroxydopamine show limb asymmetry and motor dysfunction in a cylinder test and corner test experiment. The researcher found that when β-cembrenediol was co-administered with 6-hydroxydopamine, the rates returned to normal motor function after 4 weeks post- injection. Immunohistochemical staining of brain tissue from these rats also demonstrated a return to normal looking tissue compared to untreated animals.
This study demonstrates the potential of tobacco cembranoids for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Tobacco cembranoids available from LKT Laboratories, Inc. include:
C1649 β-cembrenediol
C1648 α-cembrenediol
C1650 β-cembrenediol methyl ether
Hu J, Ferchmin PA, Hemmerle AM et al. (2017) 4R-Cembranoid Improves Outcomes after 6-Hydroxydopamin Challenge in Both In Vitro and In vivo Models of Parkinson’s Diesease. Front. Neurosci. 11:272. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00272.