Objective: Our laboratory has focused on the herbal treatment of Parkinson’s disease especially by the above two common herbs Withania somnifera (Ws) and Mucuna pruriens (Mp). Both the extracts are capable of inhibiting the oxidative stress occurring in nigrostriatal tissues and simultaneously increase the counts of TH positive cells in SN region of the MB–PQ induced PD mouse brain.

Background: PD is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders after Alzheimer’s found in the elderly. L-dopa therapy is a major medical treatment for the symptoms of PD, though it has several side effects. The two herbs, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and Kapikachhu (Mucuna pruriens), have been used to treat PD for several hundred years in the traditional system of Indian medicine..

Methods: We have chemically induced PD in mice using either MPTP or Paraquat. and tested our hypothesis by biochemical estimations, Western blotting, Immunohistochemical methods (e.g TH, GFAP ) and behaviour tests (e.g Rotarad, Narrow beam walking & Hanging).

Results: In the maneb-paraquat (MB+PQ) model of PD in mice, Ws co-treatment improved PD-induced behavioural deficits, rescued dopaminergic neuron degeneration and had a potent antioxidant effect in the nigrostriatal region. Similar results were observed for Mp co-treatment with a PQ-induced model of PD. Further, the synergistic effect of both Ws and Mp resulted  in drastic improvements in all the symptoms of PD. Finally, using an acute model of toxin-induced PD (MPTP),we obtained that one of the components, Ursolic Acid (UA), of Mp seed extract has a neuroprotective effect against PD.This study suggest that the UA has a strong antioxidant property. The treatment of the MPTP-intoxicated mice with UA, improved motor behaviour impairment by reduction of oxidative stress in SN, improved the expression of TH in SN region of the brain and protected the dopaminergic neurons. 

Conclusions: It is evident from this study that UA has strong antioxidant potential and it is known to have partial MAO-B inhibitor activity. Altogether, this study demonstrates that UA could be used as a potential drug for the prevention/treatment of PD by both reversing the symptoms and correcting the underlying cause.It is evident that traditional Ayurvedic herbs have the ability to treat, prevent and reverse the symptoms of the most debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, without side effects.

References: 1. Partial work was presented at NIMHANS , Bangalore, India  in a MDS PD Education Program from 5-7 March 2014 “Understanding Parkinson’s disease: From Clinics to Basics”,  

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/neuroprotection-and-alleviation-of-parkinsonian-phenotypes-by-ayurvedic-herbs/