Natural toxins implicated in the development of Parkinson's disease

Experimental models of Parkinson's disease (PD) are of great importance for improving the design of future clinical trials. Various neurotoxic models are available, including 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), paraquat and rotenone. However, no model is considered perfect; each has its own limitations. Based on epidemiological data, a new trend of using environmental toxins in PD modeling seems attractive and has dominated public discussions of the disease etiology. A search for new environmental toxin-based models would improve our knowledge of the pathology of the condition. Here, we discuss some toxins of natural origin (e.g. cycad-derived toxins, epoxomicin, Nocardia asteroides bacteria, Streptomyces venezuelae bacteria, annonacin and DOPAL) that possibly represent a contributory environmental component to PD.