Possible Involvement of Standardized Bacopa monniera Extract (CDRI-08) in Epigenetic Regulation of reelin and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor to Enhance Memory

Diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer's disease: Understanding disease mechanisms, their correlation, and promising dual activity of selected herbs

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

This review explores the link between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and diabetes-induced Alzheimer's disease (AD). It emphasizes the shared pathophysiological links and mechanisms between the two conditions, focusing on reduced insulin levels and receptors, impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative damage in AD-affected brains-paralleling aspects of T2DM. The review suggests AD as a "diabetes of the brain," supported by cognitive enhancement through antidiabetic interventions. It focuses on the traditionally used Indian herbs as a means to manage both conditions while addressing developmental challenges.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study explores the DM-AD connection, reviewing medicinal herbs with protective potential for both ailments, considering traditional uses and developmental challenges.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Studied research, reviews, and ethnobotanical and scientific data from electronic databases and traditional books.

RESULTS

The study analyzes the pathophysiological links between DM and AD, emphasizing their interconnected factors. Eight Ayurvedic plants with dual protective effects against T2DM and AD are thoroughly reviewed with preclinical/clinical evidence. Historical context, phytoconstituents, and traditional applications are explored. Innovative formulations using these plants are examined. Challenges stemming from phytoconstituents' physicochemical properties are highlighted, prompting novel formulation development, including nanotechnology-based delivery systems. The study uncovers obstacles in formulating treatments for these diseases.

CONCLUSION

The review showcases the dual potential of chosen medicinal herbs against both diseases, along with their traditional applications, endorsing their use. It addresses formulation obstacles, proposing innovative delivery technologies for herbal therapies, while acknowledging their constraints. The review suggests the need for heightened investment and research in this area.

Maternal stress-induced changes in adolescent and adult offspring: Neurobehavioural improvement and telomere maintenance

Maternal stress (MS) during gestation is known to increase the risk for the development of behavioural and physiological disorders and advances cellular aging. In this study, we investigated whether the supplementation of standardized Bacopa monnieri extract (CDRI-08/BME) or l-Carnosine (L-C) to the mother exposed to social stress during gestation modify the effect on their offspring's neurobehaviour, antioxidant defence gene expression, telomere length, and telomere biology. To test this, timed pregnant rats were subjected to social stress during the gestational day (GD) 16-18. A subset of stressed pregnant rats received either BME [80 mg/kg in 0.5% gum acacia (per-orally; p.o)] or L-C [1 mg/kg (p.o)] every day from GD-10 to until their pup's attained postnatal day (PND)-23. We observed that MS induced anxiety-like behaviour, altered inter-limb coordination, antioxidant defence genes [Superoxide dismutase (SOD1,2), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase-3 (GPX3)], telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), shelterin complex subunits (TRF1, RAP1B, POT1) protein level and shorten telomere length. Notably, supplementation of BME/L-C dampens the MS, thus the effect on neurobehaviour, antioxidant defence gene expression, and telomere biology is minimized in their offspring. Together, our results suggest that supplementation of BME/L-C during gestation dampens the MS and reduced oxidative stress-mediated changes in telomere shortening/biology and associated neurobehaviour in offspring born following MS.

Bacopa monnieri supplementation has no effect on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels but beneficially modulates nuclear factor kappa B and cyclic AMP response element-binding protein levels in healthy elderly subjects

Background and Aim

Bacopa monnieri is an Ayurvedic herb that has been used for multiple conditions, most notably to augment cognition, particularly memory and attention. Multiple mechanisms, including raising brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have been proposed and investigated in animal models that require translational studies in humans.

Methods

Bacopa was administered in an open-labeled study to cognitively healthy controls over a 3-month period. Cognition and mood were assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and geriatric depression scale (GDS) at the baseline and 3-month visit. Laboratories were assessed for safety and serum levels of mature (mBDNF) and proBDNF were quantified. In a subset of subjects, intracellular signaling processes were assessed using western blot analysis.

Results

Bacopa was provided to 35 subjects and was well-tolerated except for 4 (11%) subjects who early terminated due to known, reversible, and gastrointestinal side effects (i.e., nausea, diarrhea). Over the 3 months, the GDS and the total MoCA did not significantly change; however, the delayed-recall subscale significantly improved (baseline: 3.8 ± 1.2, 3-months: 4.3 ± 0.9; P = 0.032). Serum mBDNF and proBDNF levels did not significantly change. Cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation significantly increased (P = 0.028) and p65 nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) phosphorylation significantly decreased (P = 0.030).

Conclusion

These results suggest that Bacopa may exert an anti-inflammatory effect through NF-κB and improve intracellular signaling processes associated with synaptogenesis (CREB). The future placebo-controlled studies are recommended.

Relevance for Patients

B. monnieri will require larger, blinded trials to better understand potential mechanisms, interactions, and utilization.

The Neurocognitive Effects of Bacopa monnieri and Cognitive Training on Markers of Brain Microstructure in Healthy Older Adults

Bacopa monnieri (BM) is a herbal supplement that increases signaling molecules implicated in synaptogenesis. Combined with cognitive stimulation, it may be a viable supplement to enhance long-term potentiation (LTP) and improve cognitive health in older adults. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial asked 28 healthy adults aged over 55 years to complete cognitive training (CT) 3 hours weekly for 12 weeks. Fifteen consumed a standardized extract of BM and 13 consumed a placebo daily. Cognitive tasks, life-satisfaction, memory complaints and mood were assessed, and bloods analyzed for serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) before and after 12-weeks of the intervention. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) in gray (GM) and white matter (WM) were also analyzed. Results demonstrated slower reaction time in an image discrimination task in the BM group and faster reaction time in a spatial working memory task (SWM-O RT) in the placebo group. Mean accuracy was higher in the BM group for these tasks, suggesting a change in the speed accuracy trade-off. Exploratory neuroimaging analysis showed increased WM mean diffusivity (MD) and GM dispersion of neurites (orientation dispersion index, ODI) and decreased WM fractional anisotropy (FA) and GM neurite density (ND) in the BM group. No other outcomes reached statistical significance. An increase in ODI with a decrease in MD and ND in the BM group may indicate an increase in network complexity (through higher dendritic branching) accompanied by dendritic pruning to enhance network efficiency. These neuroimaging outcomes conflict with the behavioral results, which showed poorer reaction time in the BM group. Given the exploratory outcomes and inconsistent findings between the behavioral and neuroimaging data, a larger study is needed to confirm the synaptogenic mechanisms of BM.

Standardized Bacopa monnieri Extract Ameliorates Learning and Memory Impairments through Synaptic Protein, Neurogranin, Pro-and Mature BDNF Signaling, and HPA Axis in Prenatally Stressed Rat Offspring

Prenatal stress (PNS) influences offspring neurodevelopment, inducing anxiety-like behavior and memory deficits. We investigated whether pretreatment of Bacopa monnieri extract (CDRI-08/BME) ameliorates PNS-induced changes in signaling molecules, and changes in the behavior of Wistar rat offspring. Pregnant rats were randomly assigned into control (CON)/prenatal stress (PNS)/PNS and exposed to BME treatment (PNS + BME). Dams were exposed to stress by placing them in a social defeat cage, where they observed social defeat from gestational day (GD)-16–18. Pregnant rats in the PNS + BME group were given BME treatment from GD-10 to their offspring’s postnatal day (PND)-23, and to their offspring from PND-15 to -30. PNS led to anxiety-like behavior; impaired memory; increased the level of corticosterone (CORT), adrenocorticotropic hormone, glucocorticoid receptor, pro-apoptotic Casepase-3, and 5-HT_2C receptor; decreased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, synaptic proteins (synaptophysin, synaptotagmin-1), 5-HT_1A, receptor, phosphorylation of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II/neurogranin, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (2A,2B), postsynaptic density protein 95; and conversion of pro and mature brain derived neurotropic factor in their offspring. The antioxidant property of BME possibly inhibiting the PNS-induced changes in observed molecules, anxiety-like behavior, and memory deficits. The observed results suggest that pretreatment of BME could be an effective coping strategy to prevent PNS-induced behavioral impairments in their offspring.

Herbal medicine for psychiatric disorders: Psychopharmacology and neuroscience-based nomenclature

Objectives: Herbs are frequently and concurrently used with prescribed drugs by patients worldwide. While clinical trials have found some herbs to be as useful as standard psychiatric drugs, most clinicians are unaware of their pharmacological mechanisms.Methods: We searched English language and other language literature with English abstracts listed in PubMed website, supplemented by additional through Google Scholar's free academic paper abstract website for publications on herbs, focussing on their clinical use in mental disorders, their neurobiology and their pharmacology.Results: A major reason for herbs remaining outside of mainstream psychiatry is that the terminology and concepts in herbal medicine are not familiar to psychiatrists in general. Many publications regarding the use of herbal medicine for psychiatric disorders are deficient in details regarding diagnosis, criteria for response and the neurobiology details compared with publications on standard psychotropic drugs. Nomenclature for herbal medicine is usually confusing and is not conducive to an easy understanding of their mode of action in psychiatric disorders.Conclusions: The recent neuroscience-based nomenclature (NbN) for psychotropics methodology would be a logical application to herbal medicine in facilitating a better understanding of the use of herbal medicine in psychiatry.

Bacopa monnieri, a Neuroprotective Lead in Alzheimer Disease: A Review on Its Properties, Mechanisms of Action, and Preclinical and Clinical Studies

Alzheimer disease is a neurodegenerative disease that is signified by cognitive decline, memory loss, and erratic behavior. Till date, no cure for Alzheimer exists and the current Alzheimer medications have limited effectiveness. However, herbal medicines may slow down the disease’s progression, which may hopefully reduce the number of cases in the years to come. Numerous studies have been done on characterizing the neuroprotective properties from plants belonging to Scrophulariaceae family, particularly Bacopa monnieri and its polyphenolic compounds known as bacosides. This review presents the findings on bacosides in therapeutic plants and their impact on Alzheimer disease pathology. These reports present data on the clinical, cellular activities, phytochemistry, and biological applications that may be used in new drug treatment for Alzheimer disease.

Bacopa monnieri extract improves novel object recognition, cell proliferation, neuroblast differentiation, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein in the dentate gyrus

Bacopa monnieri is a medicinal plant with a long history of use in Ayurveda, especially in the treatment of poor memory and cognitive deficits. In the present study, we hypothesized that Bacopa monnieri extract (BME) can improve memory via increased cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation in the dentate gyrus. BME was administered to 7-week-old mice once a day for 4 weeks and a novel object recognition memory test was performed. Thereafter, the mice were euthanized followed by immunohistochemistry analysis for Ki67, doublecortin (DCX), and phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), and western blot analysis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BME-treated mice showed moderate increases in the exploration of new objects when compared with that of familiar objects, leading to a significant higher discrimination index compared with vehicle-treated mice. Ki67 and DCX immunohistochemistry showed a facilitation of cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation following the administration of BME in the dentate gyrus. In addition, administration of BME significantly elevated the BDNF protein expression in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, and increased CREB phosphorylation in the dentate gyrus. These data suggest that BME improves novel object recognition by increasing the cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation in the dentate gyrus, and this may be closely related to elevated levels of BDNF and CREB phosphorylation in the dentate gyrus.

Productive Amyrin Synthases for Efficient α-Amyrin Synthesis in Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae

α-Amyrin is a plant-derived pentacyclic triterpenoid, with a lot of important physiological and pharmacological activities. The formation of α-amyrin from (3 S)-2,3-oxidosqualene is catalyzed by α-amyrin synthase (α-AS), a member of the oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC) protein family. However, α-amyrin is not yet commercially developed due to its extremely low productivity in plants. The engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae with efficient α-amyrin production pathway could be used as an alternative and sustainable solution to produce α-amyrin from renewable raw materials. To efficiently improve α-amyrin production in S. cerevisiae, we identified two α-ASs, EjAS and MdOSC1 from Eriobotrya japonica and Malus × domestica, respectively, through strict bioinformatics screening criteria and phylogenetic analysis. The specific activities of purified EjAS and MdOSC1 were 0.0032 and 0.0293 μmol/min/mg, respectively. EjAS produced α-amyrin and β-amyrin at a ratio of 17:3, MdOSC1 produced α-amyrin, β-amyrin and lupeol at a ratio of 86:13:1, indicating MdOSC1 had significantly higher specific activity and higher ratio of α-amyrin than EjAS. Furthermore, MdOSC1 was introduced into S. cerevisiae combining with the increased supply of (3 S)-2,3-oxidosqualene to achieve the encouraging α-amyrin production, and the titer of α-amyrin achieved 11.97 ± 0.61 mg/L, 5.8 folds of the maximum production reported.

Botanicals as Modulators of Neuroplasticity: Focus on BDNF

The involvement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in different central nervous system (CNS) diseases suggests that this neurotrophin may represent an interesting and reliable therapeutic target. Accordingly, the search for new compounds, also from natural sources, able to modulate BDNF has been increasingly explored. The present review considers the literature on the effects of botanicals on BDNF. Botanicals considered were Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell, Coffea arabica L., Crocus sativus L., Eleutherococcus senticosus Maxim., Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze (green tea), Ginkgo biloba L., Hypericum perforatum L., Olea europaea L. (olive oil), Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, Rhodiola rosea L., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Vitis vinifera L., Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, and Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton. The effect of the active principles responsible for the efficacy of the extracts is reviewed and discussed as well. The high number of articles published (more than one hundred manuscripts for 14 botanicals) supports the growing interest in the use of natural products as BDNF modulators. The studies reported strengthen the hypothesis that botanicals may be considered useful modulators of BDNF in CNS diseases, without high side effects. Further clinical studies are mandatory to confirm botanicals as preventive agents or as useful adjuvant to the pharmacological treatment.

Multitarget botanical pharmacotherapy in major depression: a toxic brain hypothesis

A significant number of patients with major depression do not respond optimally to current antidepressant drugs. As depression is likely to be a heterogeneous disorder, it is possible that existing neurotransmitter-based antidepressant drugs do not fully address other pathologies that may exist in certain cases. Biological pathologies related to depression that have been proposed and studied extensively include inflammation and immunology, hypercortisolemia, oxidative stress, and impaired angiogenesis. Such pathologies may induce neurodegeneration, which in turn causes cognitive impairment, a symptom increasingly being recognized in depression. A neurotoxic brain hypothesis unifying all these factors may explain the heterogeneity of depression as well as cognitive decline and antidepressant drug resistance in some patients. Compared with neurotransmitter-based antidepressant drugs, many botanical compounds in traditional medicine used for the treatment of depression and its related symptoms have been discovered to be anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, anti-infection, antioxidative, and proangiogenic. Some botanical compounds also exert actions on neurotransmission. This multitarget nature of botanical medicine may act through the amelioration of the neurotoxic brain environment in some patients resistant to neurotransmitter-based antidepressant drugs. A multitarget multidimensional approach may be a reasonable solution for patients resistant to neurotransmitter-based antidepressant drugs.

Standardized extract of Bacopa monnieri (CDRI-08): Effect on germ cell dynamics and possible mechanisms of its beneficial action on spermatogenesis and sperm quality in male mice

Bacopa monnieri (BM) is used in traditional medicine as nerve tonic. We have recently shown that CDRI-08, a standardized extract of BM, improves testicular functions and epididymal sperm quality in Parkes (P) mice. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of CDRI-08 on germ cell dynamics and mechanisms of its action on spermatogenesis and sperm quality in P mice, and to determine the chemical profile of the extract. CDRI-08 (40 and 80 mg/kg body weight) was orally administered to male mice for 28 days. Germ cell dynamics, oxidative stress parameters in testis and sperm, and expressions of nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor-2 (Nrf2), phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt) and upstream kinases in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway namely MAP2K1, MAP2K2 and MKK4 in the testis were evaluated. The treatment potentiated germ cell dynamics and improved sperm quality by enhancing antioxidant enzymes activities. The beneficial effects of CDRI-08 in the testis involve p-Akt-mediated activation of Nrf2, thereby enhancing antioxidant enzymes activities; upregulation of MAP2K1 and MAP2K2 and suppression of MKK4 are also implicated in this action. A total of 26 phytocomponents were identified in CDRI-08 by GC-MS. The results suggest that CDRI-08 also may prove useful in improving reproductive health in males.