Vol 4|Issue 2| 2014 | 111-119. 111 _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ PARKINSON’S DISEASE: A PHYTOCHEMICAL APPROACH S. Divya 1 *, S. Kavimani 1 , S. Sudha Rani 2 , S.Subashree 2 , Syam Praveen Kumar 2 , G.Mahalakshmi 1 , T.Nirmala 1 , R.Samundeswari 1 , D.Sivassoupramanian 1 1 Department of Pharmacology, Mother Theresa Post graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences, Puducherry-605 006, Tamil Nadu, India. 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry-605 014, Tamil Nadu, India. ABSTRACT Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a pro gressive and age-dependent neurodegenerative movement disorder. It is characterized by a selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNPC) region of the midbrain that culminates in the major clinical symptoms of PD. The etiology of the neuronal cell death is still unclear, but mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and subsequent apoptotic cell death have been considered as underlying mechanisms of dopaminergic cell death. Although the current therapeutics applied for this disorder produce a symptomatic relief, treatment strategies for slowing down the disease progression are yet to be developed. Under these circumstances with no causal therapy is yet available, biomedical researchers are turning their interests towards exploiting the wealth of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants. This review presents the current scientific information on the neuroprotective potential of traditional plants like Mucuna pruriens, Gingko biloba , Panax ginseng, Centella asiatica, Bacopa monnieri, Withania somnifera, Scutellaria baicalensis and some popular phytochemical constituents. This information may contribute largely for developing better protective neurotherapeutics for Parkinson’s disease in near future . Key words : Parkinson’s disease, Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNPC), Bradykinesia, Oxidative stress, Neuro-degeneration, Mono Amine Oxidase, α-synnuclein protein, 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OH-DA). INTRODUCTION Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neuro-degenerative disorder affecting at least 2% of the worldwide population aged 65 and older [1]. In general, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear when there is loss of nearly 50% of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) region resulting in decreased level of dopamine in brain[2].The neuro-degeneration in Parkinson’s disease progresses slowly after the onset and the current treatment strategies do not halt this. As plants are unexplored source of potentially useful drugs researchers are focusing to find therapies based on phytochemical constituents and food supplements for their neuroprotective or neurorestorative effects in Parkinson’s disease [3]. PARKINSON’S DISEASE – A SHORT PREVIEW The pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease is the cell loss within substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) region [4] and the disease is charactrised by bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability, orofacial dyskinesia, muscular stiffness and tremor. Other non motor complications includes sleep disorders and cognitive impairment [5], depression [6], mood fluctuations[7], psychosis and dementia [8], etc. Though the exact etiology of the disease remain largely unknown, several studies have indicated about the genetic and environmental risk factors which alone or possibly in combination cause the disease. Studies with numerous animal models have shown microglial activation in dopaminergic degeneration in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) [9].While some neuropathological investigations of parkinsonian brains have shown the neuronal depigmentation which is accompanied by insoluble intra-cellular proteinaceous lewy bodies and lewy neuritis[10]. On the other hand oxidative stress, defective mitochondrial function, impaired protein metabolism also contributes to the development of Parkinsonism. * Corresponding Author S.Divya E mail: divyasankaramourthy@gmail.com International Journal of Pharmacy Review & Research www.ijprr.com e-ISSN: 2248 – 9207 Print ISSN: 2248 – 9193