Modulation of the Neurothrophic Activity by Ballota nigra L. Crataegus oxycantha L., Passiflora incarnata L. and Valeriana officinalis L. and their Combination in vitro

Introduction Neurotrophins such as the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as well as cytokines play an important role in neuroprotec-tion, the control of the central nervous system, and change with different sleep patterns. We questioned whether the plant extracts of Ballotra nigra L, Crataegus oxycantha L, Passiflora incarnata L. and Valeriana officinalis L. alone or in combination can modulate the pro-inflam-matory cytokines, neurothrophines or neuro-transmitters in vitro.

Methods: Synchro-nized human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were treated with the different plant extracts (5-400µg /ml) alone and in combination. As reference drug Lorazepam (LZ) was used. Resazurin was used to determine cell viability. TNF-alpha and IL-1ß were estimated in the supernatant by ELISA. An unbiased transcript-omic approach was used to determine the overall gene expres-sions induced by the different plant extracts/ combination. Deepsequencing data were eva-luated with different tools including Principal ArComponent Analysis (PCA) and differential gene expressions.

Results: Neither the single plant extracts nor the combination or the refe-rence drug LZ reduced the cell viability in the tested concentrations. The treatments did not stimulate TNF-α or IL-1β releases. The gene expression profiles of the four plant extracts, their combination and LZ could be clearly distin-guished in the PCA –Analyses. The subsequent detailed gene expression analyses revealed that cytokines, neurotrophins (e.g. BDNF) and neu-rotransmitters were among the 2.500 genes with the most variable expression. The four plant extracts and the combination exhibited different expression profiles, also in comparison to LZ.

Conclusion: The four plant extracts and their combination target in SH-SY5Y cells relevant genes for the modulation of the neurotrophic activity.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 December 2021