Background: Folic acid (folate) which is a water-soluble vitamin-B is essential for the life-sustaining processes of DNA synthesis, replication, repair, and also protein synthesis. Experimental evidence suggests that folate deficiency and its consequent elevated homocysteine level sensitize dopaminergic neurons to environmental toxin, whereby folate deficiency may influence risk of Parkinson disease. Accordingly, in this study, the effects of different doses of folic acid on motor activity of rat were studied using rotarod apparatus.

Materials and Methods: Animals were divided into four groups and were injected intraperitonealy a single dose of folic acid or vehicle/day for one week. The there test groups received 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg/day folic acid and the sham group received saline. Then, all groups were introduced to the rotarod test.

Results: The results showed that 5 mg/kg/day of folic acid significantly improves motor coordination (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Overally, the present results indicate that low-dose folic acid improves motor performance of the rats.