Rhus Coriaria L. extract: antioxidant effect and modulation of bioenergetic capacity in fibroblasts from Parkinson’s disease patients and THP-1 macrophages

Sumac, Rhus coriaria L., is a Mediterranean plant showing several useful properties, such as antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. Currently, there is no evidence about its possible neuro- protective action in Parkinson’s disease (PD). We hypothesized that sumac could modulate mito- chondrial functionality in fibroblasts of familial early-onset PD patients showing PARK2 mutations. Sumac extract volatile profile, polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity have been previously characterized. We evaluated ROS and ATP levels on sumac-treated patients’ and healthy control fibroblasts. In PD fibroblasts, all treatments were effective in reducing H2O2 levels, while patients’ ATP content was modulated differently, probably due to the varying mutations in the PARK2 gene found in individual patients which are also involved in different mitochondrial phenotypes. We also investigated the effect of sumac extract on THP-1-differentiated macrophages, which show dif- ferent embryogenic origin with respect to fibroblasts. In THP-1 macrophages, sumac treatment de- termined a reduction in H2O2 levels and an increase in the mitochondrial ATP content in M1, as- suming that sumac could polarize the M1 to M2 phenotype, as demonstrated with other food-de- rived compounds rich in polyphenols. In conclusion, Rhus coriaria L. extracts could represent a po- tential nutraceutical approach to PD.