screening of neuroprotective activity of Indian medicinal plant .

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is an age-dependent neurodegenerative condition characterised by changes in decline in learning and memory patterns. The neurodegenerative features of CCD in ageing dogs and cats are similar to human ageing and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Discovering neuroprotective disease-modifying therapies against CCD and AD is a major challenge. Strong evidence supports the role of amyloid β peptide deposition and oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of CCD and AD. In both the human and canine brain, oxidative damage progressively increases with age. Dietary antioxidants from natural sources hold a great promise in halting the progression of CCD and AD. (), an Ayurvedic tonic medicine, also known as 'Indian ginseng' or has a long history of use in memory-enhancing therapy but there is a dearth of studies on its neuroprotective effects. The objective of this study was to investigate whether extract can protect against Aβ peptide- and acrolein-induced toxicity. We demonstrated that treatment with extract significantly protected the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-SH against Aβ peptide and acrolein in various cell survival assays. Furthermore, treatment with extract significantly reduced the generation of reactive oxygen species in SK-N-SH cells. Finally, our results showed that extract is also a potent inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase activity. Thus, our initial findings indicate that extract may act as an antioxidant and cholinergic modulator and may have beneficial effects in CCD and AD therapy.