title: Synergistic combinations of five single drugs from Centella asiatica for neuronal differentiation.
abstract: To identify alternatives of nerve growth factor, which could promote NF68 protein expression and contribute toward neuronal differentiation, five compounds namely: asiatic acid, madecassic, madecassoside, quercetin, and isoquercetin, obtained from Centella asiatica, were examined for their neuronal differentiation effects on PC12 cells. C. asiatica has been applied as an effective herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases, including depression. According to a statistical design of experiments, both single compound and compound combinations were evaluated. A further statistical analysis indicated quantitative interactions between these five single compounds and led to the identification of the optimal drug combinations. Asiatic acid and madecassic appeared to show profound synergistic effects on neurofilaments expression in vitro. The optimized drug combinations were significantly more potent than single drugs and further investigation suggested that the optimal drug combination could be an analogue of nerve growth factor and could represent a potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Personalized Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jinjin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Xianting
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival; D028041:Centella / Q000737:chemistry*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D053978:Pentacyclic Triterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts; D051381:Rats; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: C526146:Centella asiatica extract; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D053978:Pentacyclic Triterpenes; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014315:Triterpenes; C066858:neurofilament protein NF 68; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor; C017032:asiatic acid; C093443:madecassoside