Rotenone

Description: Rotenone is a potent botanical insecticide which acts as an inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I. It specifically inhibits NAD-linked substrate oxidation of NADH dehydrogenase with an EC50=10 pmol/mg. It is known that this interference of the electron transport chain occurs from complex I to ubiquinone, similarly to amytal. Studies indicate that Rotenone inhibits mammalian cell proliferation, via suppressing microtubule assembly by binding to tubulin. Rotenone can inhibit the effects of N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium on mitochondrial swelling and cytochrome c release. Rotenone is an inhibitor of NDUFS.

References: Johnson ME, Bobrovskaya L. An update on the rotenone models of Parkinson's disease: their ability to reproduce the features of clinical disease and model gene-environment interactions. Neurotoxicology. 2015 Jan; 46:101-16. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2014.12.002. Epub 2014 Dec 13. Review. PubMed PMID: 25514659.