Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguaiensis) favours dopaminergic neurons survival in culture.

MARÍA ALEJANDRA BERNARDI; SANDRA GUERRERO; MARCELA SCHENK; MARIANA FERRARIO; JUAN ESTEBAN FERRARIO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; 2nd FALAN Congress; 2016

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition caused by progressive degeneration of nigral dopaminergic (DA) neurons, which are particularly susceptible to degenerate by causes still unknown. Some mechanisms have been associated with neuronal death, including changes in calcium homeostasis and neuronal activity. According to this, stimulants such as nicotine and caffeine, have been indirectly associated with the development of PD. Recently, similar results were found in Argentinean PD patients consuming yerba mate. In vitro studies suggest that nicotine and caffeine protect DA neurons by mechanisms involving calcium regulation. Nothing is known about the potential mechanism by which yerba mate prevents PD progression and its protective role over DA neurons has never been tested. To explore this hypothesis, we used an in vitro model of DA neurons degeneration in mouse mesencephalic primary cultures. We tested different doses of yerba mate extract obtained directly from leaves, and phases of the concentrate preparation added to neuronal culture medium. Neurons were fixed on days 4, 8 and 12th and immunostained for TH to determine the number and morphology of DA neurons, and markers of neuronal activity. We found that low doses of yerba mate significantly increase the number of DA neurons survival and their dendritic development, suggesting a neuroprotective effect in vitro, that is likely to be related to an increase in neuronal activity.