Parkinson’s
disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative
disorder, whose treatment with modern therapeutics leads to a plethora
of side effects with prolonged usage. Therefore, the management of
PD with complementary and alternative medicine is often pursued. In
the Ayurveda system of alternative medicine, Yashtimadhu choorna,
a
Medhya Rasayana
(nootropic), prepared from the
dried roots of
Glycyrrhiza glabra
L.
(licorice), is prescribed for the management of PD with a favorable
outcome. We pursued to understand the neuroprotective effects of Yashtimadhu
choorna against a rotenone-induced cellular model of PD using differentiated
IMR-32 cells. Cotreatment with Yashtimadhu choorna extract rescued
rotenone-induced apoptosis and hyperphosphorylation of ERK-1/2. Quantitative
proteomic analysis of six peptide fractions from independent biological
replicates acquired 1,561,169 mass spectra, which when searched resulted
in 565,008 peptide-spectrum matches mapping to 30,554 unique peptides
that belonged to 4864 human proteins. Proteins commonly identified
in biological replicates and >4 PSMs were considered for further
analysis,
leading to a refined set of 3720 proteins. Rotenone treatment differentially
altered 144 proteins (fold ≥1.25 or ≤0.8), involved
in mitochondrial, endoplasmic reticulum, and autophagy functions.
Cotreatment with Yashtimadhu choorna extract rescued 84 proteins from
the effect of rotenone and an additional regulation of 4 proteins.
Network analysis highlighted the interaction of proteins and pathways
regulated by them, which can be targeted for neuroprotection. Validation
of proteomics data highlighted that Yashtimadhu confers neuroprotection
by preventing mitochondrial oxidative stress and apoptosis. This discovery
will pave the way for understanding the molecular action of Ayurveda
drugs and developing novel therapeutics for PD.