Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive disease that damages neurons in specific dopaminergic brain areas, causing debilitating symptoms, such as resting tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia [1]. Currently, levodopa is widely prescribed as the first-line treatment for PD. Although levodopa is highly effective as a symptomatic treatment, it is incapable of providing the long-term protection that is needed to impair the onset or progress of the disease [2]. As a result, in the more advanced stages of this disease, patients develop motor complications that are not manageable with current treatments. Moreover, the cognitive and autonomic functions of patients become increasingly impaired during the progression of PD [3]. These non-motor complications seriously affect patients’ quality of life and are disabling in everyday life. Although the symptoms are serious, the onset of these complications is slow. In addition, it is estimated that there is a six-year time frame from the onset of neuronal cell loss and the emergence of clinical dysfunction [4]. This provides a window for disease-modifying treatments to prevent or delay the ongoing process of neurodegeneration. Since current treatments are unable to meet these requirements, it is clear that there is an urgent need for novel neuroprotective options [2, 5].