A Herbal Mixture of Sesami Semen Nigrum and Longan Arillus Induces Neurite Outgrowth in Cultured Neurons and Shows Anti-Depression in Chronic Mild Stress-Induced Rats

Figure 3

Combined extracts of Sesami Semen Nigrum and Longan Arillus upregulate TrkA signaling. (a) Serum-starved PC12 cells were treated with NGF (0–50 ng/mL) for 15 min. The protein levels of total-TrkA (∼140 kDa) and phosphorylated TrkA (∼140 kDa) were determined. Representative blots are shown. (b) The herbal extracts of Sesami Semen Nigrum (SSN) and Longan Arillus (LA) in 1 : 1 ratio, i.e., 10 μg/mL SSN + LA was referring to 5 μg/mL each, was employed. After 48 h of herbal treatment in low DMEM, PC12 cells were harvested and protein levels of total-TrkA and phosphorylated TrkA were determined by Western blot. Representative blots are shown (upper panel), and quantification results are plotted (lower panel). β-Actin (∼45 kDa) was used as a loading control. Values are expressed in percentage of increase against the untreated control, in mean ± SEM, n = 4. () .

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