Pharmacological validation of in-silico guided novel nootropic potential of Achyranthes aspera L.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Achyranthes aspera (A. aspera) has been used as a brain tonic in folk medicine. Although, ethnic use of medicinal plant has been basis for drug discovery from medicinal plants, but the available in-silico tools can be useful to find novel pharmacological uses of medicinal plants beyond their ethnic use. Aim of the study: To validate in-silico prediction for novel nootropic effect of A. aspera by employing battery of tests in mice. Material and methods: Phytoconstituents of A. aspera reported in Dictionary of Natural Product were subjected to in-silico prediction using PASS and Pharmaexpert. The nootropic activity predicted for A. aspera was assessed using radial arm maze, passive shock avoidance and novel object recognition tests in mice. After behavioral evaluation animals were decapitated and their brains were collected and stored for estimation of glutamate levels and acetylcholinesterase activity. Results: In-silico activity spectrum for majority of A. aspera phytoconstituents exhibited excellent prediction score for nootropic activity of this plant. A. aspera extract treatment significantly improved the learning and memory as evident by decreased working memory errors, reference memory errors and latency time in radial arm maze, step through latency in passive shock avoidance and increased recognition index in novel object recognition were observed, moreover significantly enhanced glutamate levels and reduced acetylcholinesterase activity in hippocampus and cortex were observed as compared to the saline treated group. Conclusion: In-silico and in-vivo results suggest that A. aspera plant may improve the learning and memory by modulating the brain glutamatergic and cholinergic neurotransmission. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.