Carnosol, a component of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) protects nigral dopaminergic neuronal cells.

1: Neuroreport. 2006 Nov 6;17(16):1729-33. Links
Carnosol, a component of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) protects
nigral dopaminergic neuronal cells.
Kim SJ, Kim JS, Cho HS, Lee HJ, Kim SY, Kim S, Lee SY, Chun HS.
Department of Biotechnology, Research Center for Proteineous
Materials, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.

Carnosol, a major component of Rosmarinus officinalis, is a phenolic
diterpene that has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
activities. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of
carnosol on rotenone-induced neurotoxicity in cultured dopaminergic
cells. Results showed that cell viability was significantly improved
with carnosol through downregulation of caspase-3. Furthermore,
carnosol significantly increased the tyrosine hydroxylase, Nurr1, and
extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. These results suggest that
carnosol may have potential as a possible compound for the development
of new agents to treat Parkinson's disease.

PMID: 17047462 [PubMed - in process]

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