Propensity of Withania somnifera to Attenuate Behavioural, Biochemical, and Histological Alterations in Experimental Model of Stroke

Abstract

The present study was designed to evaluate the beneficial effects of Withania somnifera (WS) pre-supplementation on middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke was induced in the rats by inserting intraluminal suture for 90 min, followed by reperfusion injury for 24 h. The animals were assessed for locomotor functions (by neurological deficit scores, narrow beam walk and rotarod test), cognitive and anxiety-like behavioural functions (by morris water maze and elevated plus maze test). MCAO animals showed significant impairment in locomotor and cognitive functions. Neurobehavioural changes were accompanied by decreased acetylcholinesterase activity, increased oxidative stress in terms of enhanced lipid peroxidation and lowered thiol levels in the MCAO animals. In addition, MCAO animals had cerebral infarcts and the presence of pycnotic nuclei. Single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) of MCAO animals revealed a cerebral infarct as a hypoactive area. On the other hand, pre-supplementation with WS (300 mg/kg body weight) for 30 days to MCAO animals was effective in restoring the acetylcholinesterase activity, lipid peroxidation, thiols and attenuated MCAO induced behavioural deficits. WS significantly reduced the cerebral infarct volume and ameliorated histopathological alterations. Improved blood flow was observed in the SPECT images from the brain regions of ischemic rats pre-treated with WS. The results of the study showed a protective effect of WS supplementation in ischemic stroke and are suggestive of its potential application in stroke management.

Natural product HTP screening for attenuation of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemo attractants (CINCs) and NO2− in LPS/IFNγ activated glioma cells

“…Ashwaganda has beneficial effects on diseases of cardiovascular nature (Ravindran et al, 2015a), obesity, diabetes, infection, cancer (Choi and Kim, 2015, Khazal et al, 2014, Rai et al, 2016), arthritis (Gupta and Singh, 2014, Khan et al, 2015) and gastric inflammation (Kim et al, 2016). The major constituent in Ashwaganda, identified as Withaferin A, itself is an inhibitor of HMG-CoA, angiotensinogen-converting enzyme, (Ravindran et al, 2015b) can lower total cholesterol, triglycerides, higher HDL/LDL ratios (Shukla et al, 2014) and reduce severity or incidence of myocardial infarction, (Khalil et al, 2015) stroke (Ahmad et al, 2015, Raghavan and Shah, 2015, Sood et al, 2015) and hypertension. (Kaur et al, 2015) As far as glial cells, little has been investigated, but it has been reported that Withaferin A has potential in treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (Chang et al, 2016) with possible future therapies to target brain tumors (Kataria et al, 2015).…”

The standardized Withania somnifera Dunal root extract alters basal and morphine-induced opioid receptor gene expression changes in neuroblastoma cells

“…The number of records in PubMed for the key word “ Withania somnifera ” has considerably increased from 43 between 1990 and 2000 [ 9 , 10 ], to 275 in the period relative to 2000 – 2010 [ 11 , 12 ]. In addition, the 566 studies collected in the period relative to 2010 – 2017 [ 13 , 14 ] (up to the time of preparation of the manuscript) represent more than half of the total 915 citations found with this key word search.…”

The Motor Coordination Activity Of Aqueous Extract Of Withania Coagulans Fruits In Swiss Albino Mice By Rota Rod Test

“…Yet, Withania somnifera (WS) which is a similar species as that of Withania coagulans (WC) had been tested for the motor coordination using Rota rod apparatus in middle cerebral artery occluded (MCAO) rodents. It was found that WS had significantly (p<0.05) "increased" the performance of MCAO rodents treated with WS root extract on Rota rod apparatus [17]. Hence it can be concluded that the different withanoloides in both the species might be responsible for this activity.…”