The Phytochemical Trans-Vitisin B from Grapes Shows Powerful Neuroprotective Effects in Parkinson’s Disease
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 09, 2026 17 minutes ago
A naturally occurring phytochemical isolated from grapes has shown broad neuroprotective activity against several processes associated with Parkinson’s disease, including neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, dopaminergic neuron loss, and abnormal Tau accumulation.
Trans-vitisin B from grapes protected dopamine-producing neurons and improved several Parkinson-like
abnormalities in a preclinical mouse study
Researchers investigated trans-vitisin B (tVB), an oligomeric stilbene extracted from the Alpha grape variety. The scientists were from the G.B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, both in Vladivostok, Russia.
Targeting Several Parkinson’s-Related Processes
Laboratory experiments using human microglial HMC3 cells and mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages found that tVB at concentrations of 0.1–10.0 µM significantly suppressed reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, COX-2, and the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α. It also restored levels of HSP70, a molecular chaperone involved in maintaining normal protein balance.
Notably, tVB reduced ROS production by approximately 21–25% and nitric oxide by 28–44% in the inflammatory cell model. HSP70 expression had fallen 34% during LPS-induced inflammatory stress, but tVB restored HSP70 levels by 62%.
Movement and Memory Benefits in Mice
For the animal experiments, researchers used C57BL/6 mice with rotenone-induced Parkinsonism. Animals received tVB at 1 mg/kg daily for 14 days, while another treatment group received 10 mg/kg L-DOPA.
This
Thailand Medical News report highlights particularly striking behavioral findings. Rotenone reduced spontaneous rearings by 63.2%, while tVB treatment produced a threefold increase compared with untreated rotenone-exposed mice. L-DOPA produced a larger 5.6-fold increase, but tVB maintained grip strength at control levels; the L-DOPA group experienced a 14% reduction in grip strength.
In the Open Field test, tVB did not significantly restore overall movement speed or distance but completely normalized freezing duration. In the Y-maze, spontaneous alternation had fallen from 64.5% in controls to 31.2% following rotenone exposure. tVB increased arm entries by 90.7% and significantly normalized the cognitive measure.
Evidence of Protection Inside the Brain
Brain-tissue analysis provided further evidence of neuroprotection. Rotenone reduced TH-positive staining area by 31.1% and TH-positive dopaminergic neurons by 36.5%. Treatment with tVB increased TH-positive staining area by 22.0% compared with rotenone alone, whereas L-DOPA produced no significant increase.
tVB also reduced activated IBA-1-positive microglia by 30.7% and nNOS expression by 17.7%. Rotenone increased p-TauSer202-positive neu
rofibrillary structures by 58.3%; tVB reduced these abnormal Tau structures by 23.9%.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that trans-vitisin B warrants further investigation because it simultaneously targeted inflammation, oxidative damage, abnormal protein processing, dopaminergic neuron loss, and behavioral impairment. However, the research remains preclinical, used only one tVB dose, and does not establish effectiveness or safety in people with Parkinson’s disease.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Antioxidants.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/15/9/1112
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/alzheimer,-dementia-
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/herbs-and-phytochemicals
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