betaine protects cerebellum from oxidative stress following levodopa and benserazide administration in rats

objective(s): the aim of the present study was to evaluate antioxidant and methyl donor effects of betaine in cerebellum following levodopa and benserazide administration in rats. materials and methods: sprague-dawley male rats were treated with levodopa (ld), betaine (bet), levodopa plus betaine (ld/bet), levodopa plus benserazide (ld/ben), levodopa plus betaine-benserazide (ld/bet-ben), and the controls with vehicle for 10 consecutive days, orally. results: treatment of rats with ld and benserazide significantly increased total homocysteine in plasma of the ld/ben group when compared to the other groups. lipid peroxidation of cerebellum increased significantly in ld-treated rats when compared to the other groups. in contrast, glutathione peroxidase activity and glutathione content in cerebellum were significantly higher in the betaine-treated rats when compared to the ld and ld/ben groups. serum dopamine concentration increased significantly in ld-treated rats in comparison with the ld/ben group. ld/bet-treated rats also demonstrated significantly higher dopamine levels when compared to the ld/ben group. conclusion: we observed valuable effects of bet in combination with ld and benserazide, which routinely were used for parkinson’s disease (pd) treatment, in experimentally-induced oxidative stress and hyperhomocysteinemia in rats. therefore, it seems that bet is a vital and promising agent regarding pd for future clinical trials in humans.