Figure 3

Sulforaphane rescued rotenone-induced oxidative damage by activating the Nrf2 pathway.

(a) Reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was measured based on the oxidation of DCFH-DA to DCF using a microplate reader. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (b), total glutathione activity (c) and reduced:oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) ratio (d) in the brain. GAPDH was used as loading control for western blots. At least three independent experiments were performed. Representative immunoblots for Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 and GAPDH in cerebral cortex (e) and striatum (f). Blots for Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO1 were semi-quantified using NIH imageJ. Relative density is expressed as the ratio Nrf2/GAPDH, HO-1/GAPDH, NQO1/GAPDH in cerebral cortex (g) and striatum (h), respectively. Each value is presented as mean ± SEM, n = 3. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs. control group; ^cP < 0.05, ^dP < 0.01 rotenone group vs. rotenone + sulforaphane treatment group.