Biomedical Science Letters

eISSN 2288-7415

Table. 1.

Natural products that alleviate Alzheimer’s disease

Natural product Composition Function Reference
Therapeutic phytochemicals
Red ginseng Ginsenoside Regulating neuroinflammatory pathways
Reducing inflammatory factors and APP expression
Inhibiting the aggregation of Aβ and tau proteins
(22-25)
Ginkgo biloba extract Flavonoids, terpenoids,
organic acids
Regulating the balance of gut microbiota (26,27)
Green tea (Camellia sinensis) Tea polyphenols,
caffeine, theanine
Penetrating the brain-blood barrier
Inhibiting acetylcholinesterase
Improving memory and hippocampal long-term potentiation
Regulating hippocampal synaptic efficacy through the dopamine D1/5-PKA pathway
(29-31)
Barberries Berberine Suppressing the production of IL-6 and MCP-1
Downregulating the expression of COX-2 and NOS
Inhibiting the activity of BACE-1
(34-37)
Therapeutic marine chemicals
DHA/EPA (omega-3) DHA/EPA Decreasing the levels of arachidonic acid
Increasing the levels of several signaling factor related to synaptic function
Increasing dendrites and synapses
Improving hippocampal neurogenesis
(40,42)
Seaweed LXR-activating (oxy)phytosterol,
PPAR-activating
fatty acid
Enhancing cholesterol efflux
Transcriptional inhibiting of inflammatory transcription factors
(50-52)
Algae Polyphenols, polysaccharides, sterols Inhibiting AChE and BChE, antioxidant activity
Protecting the mitochondrial membrane potential
Inhibiting α-synuclein and tau protein aggregation
Improving the formation of Aβ peptide aggregates
(54,55)
Marine sponges Pyridoacridine alkaloid Inhibiting AChE activity (56-58)

APP, amyloid precursor protein; Aβ, amyloid beta; IL-6, interleukin-6; MCP-1, monocyte chemotactic protein-1; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; BACE-1, beta-site APP cleaving enzyme-1; LXR, liver X receptor; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor; AChE, acetylcholinesterase; BChE, butyrylcholinesterase.

Biomed Sci Letters 2024;30:189-98 https://doi.org/10.15616/BSL.2024.30.4.189
© 2024 Biomed Sci Letters