Marula oil nanoemulsion improves motor function in experimental parkinsonism via mitigation of inflammation and oxidative stress

Reem Alshaman; Mona Qushawy; Hatem I Mokhtar; Angie M Ameen; Rehab M El-Sayed; Eman Saad Alamri; Lamiaa M Elabbasy; Ahmed M N Helaly; Walid F Elkhatib; Eidah M Alyahya; Sawsan A Zaitone

doi:10.3389/fphar.2023.1293306

Marula oil nanoemulsion improves motor function in experimental parkinsonism via mitigation of inflammation and oxidative stress

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Nov 23:14:1293306. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1293306. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Reem Alshaman¹, Mona Qushawy^{2

3}, Hatem I Mokhtar⁴, Angie M Ameen⁵, Rehab M El-Sayed⁶, Eman Saad Alamri⁷, Lamiaa M Elabbasy^{8

9}, Ahmed M N Helaly¹⁰, Walid F Elkhatib^{11

12}, Eidah M Alyahya¹³, Sawsan A Zaitone^{1

14}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University, El Arish, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University-Kantara Branch, Ismailia, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University, El Arish, Egypt.
⁷ Food Science and Nutrition Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
⁹ Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Almaarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
¹¹ Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, African Union Organization St., Cairo, Egypt.
¹² Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Galala University, Suez, Egypt.
¹³ Pharm D Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.

Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurologic condition exhibiting motor dysfunction that affects old people. Marula oil (M-Oil) has been used longley in cosmetics and curing skin disorders. M-Oil is particularly stable due to its high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids and natural antioxidants. The current study formulated M-Oil in an o/w nanoemulsion (M-NE) preparations and tested its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions against experimental parkinsonism. Methods: Four experimental groups of male albino mice were used and assigned as vehicle, PD, PD + M-Oil and PD + M-NE. Locomotor function was evaluated using the open field test and the cylinder test. Striatal samples were used to measure inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Results: The results indicated poor motor performance of the mice in PD control group then, improvements were recorded after treatment with crude M-Oil or M-NE. In addition, we found high expression and protein of inflammatory markers and malondialdehyde levels in PD group which were downregulated by using doses of crude M-Oil or M-NE. Hence, formulating M-Oil in form of M-NE enhanced its physical characters. Discussion: This finding was supported by enhanced biological activity of M-NE as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent that resulted in downregulation of the inflammatory burden and alleviation of locomotor dysfunction in experimental PD in mice.

Keywords: experimental parkinsonism; inflammation; marula oil; motor function; oxidative stress.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at the University of Tabuk for funding this work through research no. S-1443-0194.