Multi-Target Neuroprotective Potential of Achyranthes aspera and Abutilon indicum: A Systematic Review of Preclinical Evidence and a Rationale for Combination Research
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Background. Neurodegenerative and neuro-behavioural disorders progress through several injury routes at once, which is one reason single-target drugs have performed poorly in latephase trials. Plant extracts act on many targets simultaneously, and two species used widely in Indian traditional practice, Achyranthes aspera Linn. (Amaranthaceae) and Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet (Malvaceae), have each accumulated separate neuropharmacological literatures that have never been read against one another. Objective. To collate the preclinical neurobehavioural, neurochemical and phytochemical evidence for both species, to test whether their reported mechanisms overlap, and to specify what a combination study would need to demonstrate. Methods. A structured search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar was screened against PRISMA 2020 guidance. Studies were eligible if they reported a central nervous system outcome, a neurochemical marker relevant to such an outcome, or a quantified phytochemical profile for either species. Twenty-seven sources met the criteria. Results. A. aspera has the deeper record: protection in cerebral ischaemia and reperfusion, reversal of chronic stress induced depressive behaviour with parallel falls in TNF-α and IL-6, anxiolysis at 100 to 600 mg/kg, and a seizure threshold effect that is lost when flumazenil is co-administered. A. indicum is thinner but not empty: it lowers brain acetylcholinesterase and shortens transfer latency in aluminium chloride treated rats, and shows dose dependent anxiolytic and antidepressant activity up to 100 mg/kg. Both species carry phenolic acids, flavonoids, triterpenes, phytosterols, saponins and alkaloids, and both show consistent radical scavenging in vitro. Their reported mechanisms converge on four nodes: redox rescue, cytokine suppression, cholinergic support and GABAergic tone. Conclusion. The two species are mechanistically complementary rather than redundant, and no study has yet tested them together. A staged programme is proposed, beginning with fixedratio isobolographic screening in an aluminium chloride model and a pentylenetetrazole threshold model, and continuing to chemically standardised extracts before any clinical claim is made. All current evidence is preclinical.
Language: English
Subfield: Complementary and alternative medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7202284036