7th ISF

BIOL036 - Neuroprotective Effect of Centella asiatica Ethanolic Extract on Toluene-Led Neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans

Toluene, a persistent organic pollutant (POP), is commonly used as a solvent and often remains in various polymer-based products such as nail polish remover, glue, or paint. Several studies have confirmed toluene's neurotoxicity, particularly in locomotor neurodegeneration through inhalation. Recent research revealed that toluene can also induce degeneration and dysfunction in dopaminergic neurons leading to impaired locomotion behavior. Our study aims to investigate the neuroprotective effect of the local herb Centella asiatica (CA) commonly known as Asiatic pennywort which is widely studied in the medical field. The CA's neuroprotective effect on toluene-led neurodegeneration was studied in an invertebrate animal model, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) — a soil-dwelling nematode universally used for neuroscience research and drug testing. C. elegans were fed with E. coli OP50, their primary food, combined with different concentrations of CA ethanolic extract or L-DOPA, a dopamine precursor used for Parkison’s disease treatment. Subsequently, they were exposed to airborne toluene at 666 ppm to induce neurodegeneration. Video recordings of the treated C. elegans were analyzed by image processing software to extract the average speed. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post hoc tests. The results indicated that CA ethanolic extract significantly attenuated toluene-induced locomotion deficits in a dose-dependent manner. Notably, the highest CA concentration (1.00 mg/ml) exhibited no significant difference from the L-DOPA group, a positive control. Furthermore, our analysis of CA ethanolic extract using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) revealed that 1 gram of the extract contains 23.66 - 31.15 mg of asiaticoside, a neuroprotective chemotype. In conclusion, our preliminary findings suggest that CA ethanolic extract exerts a dose-dependent neuroprotective effect against toluene-induced neurodegeneration.

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