Journal ArticleDOI
Medicinal Plants and Alzheimer's Disease: from Ethnobotany to Phytotherapy**
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TLDR
The value of an integrative traditional and modern scientific approach to developing new treatments for dementia, but also in the understanding of disease mechanisms, is considered.Abstract:
The use of complementary medicines, such as plant extracts, in dementia therapy varies according to the different cultural traditions. In orthodox Western medicine, contrasting with that in China and the Far East for example, pharmacological properties of traditional cognitive- or memory-enhancing plants have not been widely investigated in the context of current models of Alzheimer's disease. An exception is Gingko biloba in which the gingkolides have antioxidant, neuroprotective and cholinergic activities relevant to Alzheimer's disease mechanisms. The therapeutic efficacy of Ginkgo extracts in Alzheimer's disease in placebo controlled clinical trials is reportedly similar to currently prescribed drugs such as tacrine or donepezil and, importantly, undesirable side effects of Gingko are minimal. Old European reference books, such as those on medicinal herbs, document a variety of other plants such as Salvia officinalis (sage) and Melissa officinalis (balm) with memory-improving properties, and cholinergic activities have recently been identified in extracts of these plants. Precedents for modern discovery of clinically relevant pharmacological activity in plants with long-established medicinal use include, for example, the interaction of alkaloid opioids in Papaver somniferum (opium poppy) with endogenous opiate receptors in the brain. With recent major advances in understanding the neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease, and as yet limited efficacy of so-called rationally designed therapies, it may be timely to re-explore historical archives for new directions in drug development. This article considers not only the value of an integrative traditional and modern scientific approach to developing new treatments for dementia, but also in the understanding of disease mechanisms. Long before the current biologically-based hypothesis of cholinergic derangement in Alzheimer' s disease emerged, plants now known to contain cholinergic antagonists were recorded for their amnesia- and dementia-inducing properties.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease.
Haruhiko Akiyama,Steven W. Barger,Scott R. Barnum,B Bradt,Jürgen Bauer,Greg M. Cole,Neil R. Cooper,Piet Eikelenboom,Mark R. Emmerling,Bernd L. Fiebich,Caleb E. Finch,Sally A. Frautschy,W. S. T. Griffin,Harald Hampel,Michael Hüll,Gary E. Landreth,Lih-Fen Lue,Robert E. Mrak,Ian R. A. Mackenzie,Patrick L. McGeer,M K O'Banion,Joel S. Pachter,Giulio Maria Pasinetti,C Plata-Salaman,Joseph G. Rogers,Russell E. Rydel,Yueyang Shen,Wolfgang J. Streit,Ronald Strohmeyer,I Tooyoma,F L van Muiswinkel,R. Veerhuis,David G. Walker,Scott D. Webster,Beatrice Hauss–Wegrzyniak,Gary L. Wenk,Tony Wyss-Coray +36 more
TL;DR: By better understanding AD inflammatory and immunoregulatory processes, it should be possible to develop anti-inflammatory approaches that may not cure AD but will likely help slow the progression or delay the onset of this devastating disorder.
Journal ArticleDOI
Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic Content of Moringa oleifera Leaves in Two Stages of Maturity
S. Sreelatha,P. R. Padma +1 more
TL;DR: The data obtained in the present study suggests that the extracts of Moringa oleifera both mature and tender leaves have potent antioxidant activity against free radicals, prevent oxidative damage to major biomolecules and afford significant protection against oxidative damage.
Journal ArticleDOI
The in vitro screening for acetylcholinesterase inhibition and antioxidant activity of medicinal plants from Portugal.
TL;DR: Hypericum undulatum, Melissa officinalis and Laurus nobilis showed both high AChE inhibitory capacity and antioxidant activity and most of the plants showed values around 90%.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Flavonoid Baicalein Inhibits Fibrillation of α-Synuclein and Disaggregates Existing Fibrils
TL;DR: It is shown here that low micromolar concentrations of baicalein, and especially its oxidized forms, inhibit the formation of α-synuclein fibrils and that diets rich in flavonoids may be effective in preventing the disorder.
Journal ArticleDOI
Aromatherapy as a safe and effective treatment for the management of agitation in severe dementia: the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with Melissa.
TL;DR: The finding that aromatherapy with essential balm oil is a safe and effective treatment for clinically significant agitation in people with severe dementia, with additional benefits for key quality of life parameters, indicates the need for further controlled trials.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
A Placebo-Controlled, Double-blind, Randomized Trial of an Extract of Ginkgo Biloba for Dementia
Pierre L. Le Bars,Martin M. Katz,Nancy Berman,Turan M. Itil,Alfred M. Freedman,Alan F. Schatzberg +5 more
TL;DR: EGb was safe and appears capable of stabilizing and, in a substantial number of cases, improving the cognitive performance and the social functioning of demented patients for 6 months to 1 year.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ginkgo biloba for cerebral insufficiency.
Jos Kleijnen,P.G. Knipschild +1 more
TL;DR: Positive results have been reported for Ginkgo biloba extracts in the treatment of cerebral insufficiency and the clinical evidence is similar to that of a registered product which is prescribed for the same indication, however, further studies should be conducted for a more detailed assessment of the efficacy.
Journal ArticleDOI
Proof of Efficacy of the Ginkgo Biloba Special Extract EGb 761 in Outpatients Suffering from Mild to Moderate Primary Degenerative Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or Multi-infarct Dementia
TL;DR: The clinical efficacy of the ginkgo biloba special extract EGb 761 in dementia of the Alzheimer type and multi-infarct dementia was confirmed and the investigational drug was found to be well tolerated.
Journal ArticleDOI
Acetylcholine and Hallucinations - Disease-Related Compared to Drug-Induced Alterations in Human Consciousness
Elaine K. Perry,Robert H. Perry +1 more
TL;DR: It is suggested that muscarinic receptor activation in the cortex is involved in confining the contents of the discrete self-reported conscious "stream" in the absence of cortical acetylcholine, which means irrelevant intrinsic and sensory information, which is constantly processed in parallel at the subconscious level, enters conscious awareness.
Journal ArticleDOI
The neuroprotective properties of the Ginkgo biloba leaf: a review of the possible relationship to platelet-activating factor (PAF)
TL;DR: There is substantial experimental evidence to support the view that Ginkgo biloba extracts have neuroprotective properties under conditions such as hypoxia/ischemia, seizure activity and peripheral nerve damage.
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