Centella asiatica Promotes Antioxidant Gene Expression and Mitochondrial Oxidative Respiration in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Background/Objectives: Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (family Apiaceae) (C. asiatica) is a traditional botanical medicine used in aging and dementia. Water extracts of C. asiatica (CAW) have been used to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms in related animal models and are associated with increases in antioxidant response element (ARE) genes and improvements in mitochondrial respiratory function and neuronal health. Because multiple sclerosis (MS) shares its neurogenerative pathology of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction with aging and dementia, neuropsychiatric symptoms in MS may also benefit from C. asiatica. To determine whether CAW similarly benefits neuropsychiatric symptoms, ARE gene expression, and mitochondrial respiration in inflammatory models of MS, and to determine the effects of CAW on clinical disability and inflammation, we tested CAW using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Methods: C57BL/6J mice induced with EAE were treated with CAW or a placebo for 2 weeks. The outcomes were clinical disability, signs of anxiety (open field test), ARE gene expression, mitochondrial respiration, and inflammation and demyelination. Results: At the dosing schedule and concentrations tested, CAW-treated mice with EAE demonstrated increased ARE gene expression and mitochondrial respiratory activity compared to those of placebo-treated mice with EAE. CAW was also associated with reduced inflammatory infiltrates in the spinal cord, but the differences between the populations of activated versus quiescent microglia were equivocal. CAW did not improve behavioral performance, EAE motor disability, or demyelination. Conclusions: In the inflammatory EAE model of MS, CAW demonstrates similar neuroprotective effects to those it exhibits in aging and dementia mouse models. These benefits, along with the anti-inflammatory effects of CAW, support further investigation of its neuropsychiatric effects in people with MS.
Source: Pharmaceuticals
DOI: 10.3390/ph17121681
Language: English
Subfield: Complementary and alternative medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,296
Awards: G1091064147, G11057545, G1448464362, G1893357618, G267115787, G2727161907, G348743638, G4540689885, G4726427800, G4737373218, G5276658073, Botanicals enhancing neurological and functional resilience in aging (BENFRA), G5920118661, G5976710031, Role of human apolipoprotein E isoforms in long-term effects of West Nile Virus exposure on Alzheimer's disease-related behavioral alteration, cognitive injury, neuroinflammation, and neuropathology, G6844482520, G6969696483, G717980251, G7709801942, G8492134033, G9000003089, G9000044718, G9000117758, G9000131632, G9000133779, G9000230879, G911672267
OpenAlex ID: W4405378226