An Evaluation of the Effect of Naringenin on PerphenazineInduced Catatonia in Rats

Background and Aim: Parkinson is known as the second most common disease of the nervous system after Alzheimer s disease. Parkinsonism is primarily caused by idiopathic Parkinson s disease. The second most common cause of this disorder is the consumption of drugs. Flavonoid compounds are natural polyphenolic compounds found in many plants. Naringenin (4’, 5, 7-trihydroxyflavanone) is a flavonoid found in fruits and vegetables with various protective effects on the nervous system. Materials and Methods: Rats were divided into five groups of eight rats. The intraperitoneal administration of naringenin was conducted at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg. The animal received perphenazine thirty minutes following the administration of different doses of naringenin, normal saline and bromocriptine. The rats were analyzed using Morpurgo test for scoring their muscle stiffness 20, 40, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 minutes after perphenazine injection. Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to check the differences between the groups (multiple comparisons). We used Mann-Whitney U test in order to compare the distinction between two independent groups. Results: The reduction of the muscle stiffness of the naringenin-intake group was not significant with the dose of 100 mg/kg compared with the positive control group. (P 0.05). The reductions in stiffness in naringenin intake with the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg were not remarkable in comparison with the positive control group. Conclusion: According to the results, naringenin does not have any significant effect on catatonia induced by perphenazine in the dose of 100 mg/kg but its infusion in the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg showed significant reduction in muscle stiffness.