Effect of Electrolyzed Reduced Water in an Animal Model of Parkinson-Like Disease

Effect of Electrolyzed Reduced Water in an Animal Model of Parkinson-Like Disease Cinzia Nasuti1, Donatella Fedeli1, Laura Bordoni2, Maura Montani3, Ivan Dus4, Rosita Gabbianelli1 1School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Italy; 2School of Advanced Studies, University of Camerino, Italy; 3School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Italy; 4Head of Research for Chanson Water Company Taiwan Objectives: Early life environmental factors, life style and diet have a profound impact on the organism’s later development and subsequent onset of age-related diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases. In previous studies, we developed an animal model where the early life exposure (from postnatal day 6 to 21) to low dose of pesticide permethrin (PERM, 34 mg/kg) induced Parkinsonlike neurodegeneration in rats characterized by decreased dopamine, Nurr1 and glutathione levels in the basal ganglia, altered immune responses and gut disbiosis. The animal model was exposed to a neurotoxin PERM that is an insecticide widely used for indoor and outdoor applications (i.e. carpets, kitchen worktops other treated wood furniture, lawn, mosquito control). The presence of its metabolites in the urine of 98% of population makes this insecticide a reliable environmental risk factor to health. The present study aims to test the effect of electrolyzed reduced water (ERW) on this animal model developing neurodegenerative disease after exposure to PERM pesticide in neonatal age. Methods: The effect of ERW is determined by cognitive tests, dopamine and Nurr1 levels measured in basal ganglia and Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) immunostaining in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta (SNc) in 60-day-old rats. Results: When working memory is assessed in a T-maze, PERM group has a worst performance compared with healthy controls, whereas the performance of PERM+ERW is similar to control group. The same trend is observed for the average of perseverative errors. With regard to dopamine levels measured by HPLC in basal ganglia, decreased levels are observed in PERM group compared to control group, whereas the co-treatment with PERM+ERW protects against the damage induced by the pesticide even increasing the levels of dopamine. Similar results are obtained with regard to Nurr1 levels measured by western blot in basal ganglia. Immunohistochemical analysis with anti-TH antibody marking dopamine neurons in SNc shows a reduced number of TH-positive neurons in PERM rats compared to control rats, whereas a slight increase (not statistically significant) was observed in the PERM+ERW group with respect to PERM group. Conclusion: The use of ERW as functional water could be helpful as a therapeutic tool in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.