Abstract
Aging is a decelerating unidirectional process of life. Shortening of telomeric DNA, the (TTAGGG)n hexanucleotide repeats, which form the caps at the chromosome ends, is implicated to determine the aging process, and more importantly the healthy lifespan itself. Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein having reverse transcriptase activity, arrests telomere loss through addition of the TTAGGG repeats de novo, to the ends of the chromosome. The telomere/telomerase maintenance is an inevitable necessity to delay aging and for a healthy lifespan. Here, we report the potential of full-spectrum, high concentration Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), an Ayurvedic medicinal herb, root extract to increase telomerase activity. HeLa cells, when treated with various concentrations of Ashwagandha root extract, showed an increase in telomerase activity measured with the established Telomerase Rapid Amplification Protocol (TRAP) assay. Ashwagandha root extract increased telomerase activity with highest enhancement of ~45% at 10 - 50 μg concentration. Thus, Ashwagandha root extract has the anti-aging inducing potential.
Highlights
Aging, the relentless decelerating phenomenon, is the main cause for wide range of age-associated diseases like cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and others [1]
We evaluated the Ashwagandha root extract powder (KSM-66) suspended in water to enhance telomerase activity
The telomerase activity was highest between 50 ng and 5 μg of total protein of cell extract
Summary
The relentless decelerating phenomenon, is the main cause for wide range of age-associated diseases like cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and others [1]. One of the major factors that accelerate aging and cause degeneration of various systems is. R. Subramaniam the shortening of “TELOMERES”, the DNA repeat sequences at the end of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, of 2 - 20 kbp length, which act as caps to conserve chromosome integrity and stability [2]. During the process of DNA replication, telomeres are shortened by 50 - 100 bp with each cell division. The end replication problem leads to critically short telomeres and senescence. Telomeres are implicated as one of the factors that determine aging and lifespan. The enzyme, telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein having reverse transcriptase activity, carries out telomere replication. Telomerase synthesizes telomeric DNA sequences through the addition of TTAGGG repeats at the chromosome ends [3]. The telomerase activity is extremely low in somatic cells
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