Chronic Treatment with the Probiotics Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis BB12 Attenuates Motor Impairment, Striatal Microglial Activation, and Dopaminergic Loss in Rats with 6-Hydroxydopamine-induced Hemiparkinsonism.

Gut dysbiosis is considered a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), and chronic treatment with probiotics could prevent it. Here we report the assessment of a probiotic mixture [Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), and Bifidobacterium animalis lactis BB-12 (BB-12)] administered to male rats 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after injecting 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the right striatum, a model that mimics the early stages of PD. Before and after lesion, animals were subjected to behavioral tests: narrow beam, cylinder test, and apomorphine (APO)-induced rotations.

Chronic feeding with 3% dried raw blueberries (V. corymbosum) reduces apomorphine-induced rotations and striatal dopaminergic loss in hemiparkinsonian rats.

Blueberries (BB) are rich in antioxidant polyphenols, and their intake could prevent Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we assessed whether rats chronically fed dried raw BB develop resistance to dopaminergic denervation and motor disorders caused by unilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a dopaminergic neurotoxin acting mainly by inducing oxidative stress. Male rats were fed either with LabDiet® alone or supplemented with 3% lyophilized raw BB for 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after injecting 6-OHDA (day 0) or vehicle (mock lesion) into the right striatum.