Acid curd (Karish) cheese supplemented with ashwagandha and/or probiotics: Modulatory efficiency on induced behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats

Neurodegenerative disorder leads to a progressive memory loss that has only limited known medications. The use of ashwagandha, probiotics, or their combination may improve cholinergic activity, consequently providing therapeutic potency against amnesia and neuroplasticity disorders. We aimed to explore the modulatory benefits of ashwagandha extract and probiotics against induced behavioral and neurochemical retardations. Acid curd (Karish) cheese samples were supplemented with ashwagandha extract and/or probiotics and subjected to chemical, microbiological, rheological, sensorial, and biological investigations by standard techniques. The supplementation of Karish cheese with ashwagandha never deteriorated its chemical composition or rheological parameters. On the contrary, it exerted high antioxidant and phenolic potentials. Also, ashwagandha extract performed antimicrobial action against the tested pathogenic bacteria and showed better prebiotic effects with Lactobacillus plantarum. The biological study revealed that treating dementia-modeled rats with Karish cheese supplemented with ashwagandha and/or probiotics resulted in a detectable improvement in the behavioral and neurochemical measurements. However, the cheese supplemented with a formula of ashwagandha and probiotics had the greatest regenerating effect. The supplementation of Karish cheese with ashwagandha and/or probiotics exhibited a modulatory efficiency against experimentally induced behavioral and neurochemical disorders.