Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) Improves Spatial Memory, Anxiety and Depressive-like Behavior in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
department or school: Other UBC
department or school: Non UBC
data provider: DSpace
identifier citation: Antioxidants 13 (10): 1164 (2024)
contributor: University of British Columbia. Life Sciences Institute
creator: Gladen-Kolarsky, Noah
creator: Monestime, Olivia
creator: Bollen, Melissa
creator: Choi, Jaewoo
creator: Yang, Liping
creator: Magaña, Armando Alcazar
creator: Maier, Claudia S.
creator: Soumyanath, Amala
creator: Gray, Nora E.
issued: 2024-10-25T19:11:36Z
issued: 2024-09-25
description: Withania somnifera (WS), also known as ashwagandha, is a popular botanical supplement used to treat various conditions including memory loss, anxiety and depression. Previous studies from our group showed an aqueous extract of WS root (WSAq) enhances cognition and alleviates markers for depression in Drosophila. Here, we sought to confirm these effects in the 5xFAD mouse model of β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation. Six- to seven-month-old male and female 5xFAD mice were treated with WSAq in their drinking water at 0 mg/mL, 0.5 mg/mL or 2.5 mg/mL for four weeks. In the fourth week of treatment, spatial memory, anxiety and depressive-like symptoms were evaluated. At the conclusion of behavioral testing, brain tissue was harvested, immunohistochemistry was performed, and the cortical expression of antioxidant response genes was evaluated. Both concentrations of WSAq improved spatial memory and reduced depressive and anxiety-related behavior. These improvements were accompanied by a reduction in Aβ plaque burden in the hippocampus and cortex and an attenuation of activation of microglia and astrocytes. Antioxidant response genes were upregulated in the cortex of WSAq-treated mice. Oral WSAq treatment could be beneficial as a therapeutic option in AD for improving disease pathology and behavioral symptoms. Future studies focused on dose optimization of WSAq administration and further assessment of the mechanisms by which WSAq elicits its beneficial effects will help inform the clinical potential of this promising botanical therapy.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/89538
note: Citation: Gladen-Kolarsky, N.;Monestime, O.; Bollen, M.; Choi, J.;Yang, L.; Magaña, A.A.; Maier, C.S.;Soumyanath, A.; Gray, N.E. Withaniasomnifera (Ashwagandha) ImprovesSpatial Memory, Anxiety andDepressive-like Behavior in the5xFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’sDisease. Antioxidants 2024, 13, 1164.https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox13101164Academic Editor: Soliman KhatibReceived: 14 August 2024Revised: 14 September 2024Accepted: 20 September 2024Published: 25 September 2024Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).antioxidantsArticleWithania somnifera (Ashwagandha) Improves Spatial Memory,Anxiety and Depressive-like Behavior in the 5xFAD MouseModel of Alzheimer’s DiseaseNoah Gladen-Kolarsky 1, Olivia Monestime 1 , Melissa Bollen 1,2, Jaewoo Choi 2,3, Liping Yang 2,4, ArmandoAlcazar Magaña 2,4,5 , Claudia S. Maier 2,3,4, Amala Soumyanath 1,2 and Nora E. Gray 1,2,*1 Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA2 BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center, Portland, OR 97239, USA;armando.alcazarmagana@ubc.ca (A.A.M.)3 Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA4 Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA5 Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada* Correspondence: grayn@ohsu.eduAbstract: Withania somnifera (WS), also known as ashwagandha, is a popular botanical supplementused to treat various conditions including memory loss, anxiety and depression. Previous studiesfrom our group showed an aqueous extract of WS root (WSAq) enhances cognition and alleviatesmarkers for depression in Drosophila. Here, we sought to confirm these effects in the 5xFAD mousemodel of β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation. Six- to seven-month-old male and fe…
has type: Article
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0447140
language: eng
peer review status: Reviewed
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
publisher DOI: 10.3390/antiox13101164
rights: CC BY 4.0
rights URI: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
scholar level: Faculty
scholar level: Researcher
subject: Alzheimer’s disease
subject: memory
subject: depression
subject: anxiety
subject: ashwagandha
subject: neuroinflammation
subject: oxidative stress
subject: beta-amyloid
subject: 5xFAD mice
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89538