Ashwagandha and Its Active Ingredient, Withanolide A, Increase Activation of the Phosphatidylinositol 3’ Kinase/Akt Cascade in Hippocampal Neurons | Chapter 04 | Recent Advances in Biological Research Vol. 5
Aims: To determine if whether, in a hippocampal neuron culture model subjected to nutrient deprivation stress (simulating degenerative disease state), Ashwagandha and/or two of its putative active ingredients, withanolide A or withaferin A, affect any of the following: neurite outgrowth, neuronal survival, activation of the pro-survival PI-3K/Akt and MAPK cascades, phosphorylation of CREB and expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Study Design: To primary rat embryonic hippocampal neurons in culture, half of which were subjected to nutrient deprivation stress, inhibitors of the PI-3K/Akt and MAPK cascade (LY294002 and PD98059, respectively) were applied, followed by Ashwagandha, withanolide A or withaferin A. Methodology: Neuronal survival was determined by using fluorescently labeled markers for live vs dead cells and by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Average neurite length was measured under phase-contrast microscopy. And intracellular signal transd...