Withania somnifera shows ability to counter Parkinson's Disease: An Update

Abstract

Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is a very revered herb of the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine. It is useful for treating various kinds of disease processes and especially used as a nervine tonic. Withania somnifera (Ws) contain a wide array of active components including withaferin A, withanone and other flavonoids exhibiting strong anti-oxidant properties. Many scientific studies on Ws were carried out previously that showed its anti-oxidative effect, synergistic effect with other medicinal herbs and its efficiency to increase catecholamines level and regulation of apoptotic processes. Furthermore, treatment of Parkinsonian mice models with Ws has shown neuroprotection of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta region of mid-brain. The present review enlightens the crucial role of Indian Ginseng to curb neurodegenerative disorder such as Parkinson's disease. Extensive studies are needed to prove its therapeutic efficacy in neuronal disorders. Varanasi-221005. Email: suryasinghbhu16@gmail.com Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's, affecting 1% of the population by the age of 65 and 4-5% of the population by the age of 85 [16,17]. Parkinson's disease is caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta region of mid-brain [18] resulting in the reduction of dopamine level [19]. Various factors such as age, genetic and environmental exposure are associated with the onset and progression of PD [19,20]. KeywordsIn this review, we are focussing on the use of therapeutic potential of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) in Parkinson's disease. It possesses the power of combating neurodegenerative disorder like PD. Nowadays, more emphasis is laid on the use of medicinal herbs to treat human diseases. Therefore, the cornerstone of this review paper is to focus on how Ashwagandha alleviates Parkinson's disease. Rastogi RP and Mehrotra BN 1998.,[21] has revealed over 35 chemical constituents contained in the roots of Ashwagandha through laboratory analysis. The roots of Ws possess withanolides, which are steroidal in nature and bear a resemblance, both in their action and appearance, to the active constituents of the plant Panax ginseng known as ginsenosides [11,12,22]. The biologically active chemical constituents of Ws include alkaloids (isopelletierine, anaferine, cuseohygrine, anahygrine, etc.) and steroidal lactones (withanolides, withaferins) [23]. Ganzera M, Chodhary MI and Khan IA. 2003.,[24] investigated two withanolides of Ws, withaferin A and withanolide D through HPLC analysis. Other constituents of Ws include saponins containing an additional acyl group (sitoindoside VII and VIII), and withanoloides with a glucose at carbon 27 (sitoindoside IX and X) [24,25]. Matsuda H, et al.2001, [26] isolated and identified seven new withanolide glycosides of Ws called withanosides I, II, III , IV, V, VI and VII. Chemical Constituents

Herbal Medicines as Neuroprotective Agent: A Mechanistic Approach

“…Furthermore, it was reported that Withania somnifera treatment increased the level of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) proteins and decreased the level of the pro-apoptotic (Bax) proteins in the Maneb-Paraquat-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration model of PD. [100]. Ashwagandha extract has shown to prevent the lipid peroxidation and increase the antioxidant activity by increasing the free-radical scavenging enzymes levels in the brain.…”

Effect of Nelumbo nucifera rhizome extract in haloperidol induced Parkinson rat model

“…Administration of EENN at 250 and 500 mg/kg showed a bar retention time of the rota-rod, confirming the improved muscle coordination behavior of experimental rats compared to diseased rats. Standard drug (L-dopa In G3) showed high retention time [11,13,15] . Administration of EENN at 250, 500 mg/kg showed improved locomotor activity compared to G2.…”

“…Group-IV, V (Test Control 1, Test control 2) -oral administration of N. nucifera ( 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg once a day for two weak 30 min before haloperidol) in a respective animal group. After cataleptic induction, Behavioural parameter was recorded on day 7 and 13-for bar test, day 8 and 14-for a rota-rod test, day 8 and 11-for Locomotor activity [11,12,13,34,35,36] .…”

“…A significant difference was considered b/w group when p<0.05. All analyses were done with GraphPad Prism 8.0.2 software [9,10,11,24] .…”