Hwang Chan Go (A Blend of Extracts of Onion, Garlic and Wild Rice) Improves Parkinson’s Disease in a Mouse Model

This study investigated the effects of Hwang Chan Go (HCG), a blend of onion, garlic, and wild rice (Zizania latifolia extracts), on Parkinson's disease (PD) in a mouse model.Each group of mice (8 mice/group) was treated with 30 mg/kg MPTP injected four times intraperitoneally a day (PD group), MPTP injection followed by oral administration of HCG (50, 100, or 300 mg/kg once daily for 10 days (PD/HCG groups), or 20 mg/kg of L-dopa/5mg/kg of benserazide (B) once daily for 10 days (positive control), 300 mg/kg of HCG once daily for 10 days (HCG group) or none (negative control).The following results were obtained.The PD group exhibited severe impairments in behaviors (P < 0.001 vs. NC), but of the five tests, the PD/HCG (300 mg/kg) group showed significant improvement (P < 0.05 vs. PD) in the 3 tests: Rotarod, Forced Swimming, and Open Field tests.PD group showed the decreased dopaminergic (DA) neuron counts and decreased expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine transporter that are marker proteins of DA neurons.HCG, however, reversed these reductions significantly and dose-dependently (P < 0.05 or 0.01 vs. PD) In the PD group, glial cells were significantly activated as evidenced by the increased expression of CD11, its maker protein (P < 0.001 vs. NC) but this activation was significantly reduced by HCG (300 mg/kg) (P < 0.05 vs. PD).The PD group also showed severe mast cell infiltration in the substantia nigra (SN), indicated by the increased cell counts, and increased expression of c-kit, high-affinity immunoglobulin epsilon receptor I, tryptase specific to mast cells and chemokine receptor 2, chemokine (C-C motif ) ligand 2, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and platelet and endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 involving movement of mast cells (P < 0.001 vs. NC) but in the PD/HCG groups, these increases were also significantly and dose-dependently reversed by HCG.(P < 0.01 or 0.001 vs. PD) In vitro, MPP + , an active form of MPTP, stimulated mast cells to release tumor necrosis factor- and histamine (P < 0.001 vs. NC), but HCG dose-dependently inhibited these releases (P < 0.05 to 0.001 vs. MPP + alone).The PD group showed suppressed regulatory T (Treg) cell function, as indicated by significantly decreased expression of forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), its master transcription factor (P < 0.001 vs. NC), and significantly reduced expression of transforming growth factor-, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10, and IL-35 (P < 0.001 vs. NC), of which transcriptions are controlled by Foxp3.HCG, however, significantly restored the reduced levels of these markers in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01 to 0.001 vs. PD).L-dopa/B showed no effect or lower effects than HCG and HCG alone showed no effect.Overall, the results demonstrate that HCG exerts a neuroprotective effect against PD through behavioral improvements, DA neuron preservation, inhibition of glial and mast cell activation, and