Multi-Target Strategy Of Traditional Herbs For The Prevention And Treatment Of Alzheimer’s Disease - A Review

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M. Birundadevi , S. Mathu kumar

Abstract

The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)rises from the ages of 65 to 70 years and ranges from 1-4 percent of the population per year.This progressive neurodegenerative disease is characterised by changes in the brain such as damage and loss of nerve cells and their connections, tangled fibers, protein clumps, and inflammation which are considered to be the hallmarks of the disease.Though researchers believe the combination of several factors such as genetic, familial, environmental factors, age, lifestyle, diet, etc, its pathogenesis has been considered to be highly complex.Presently more than 200 promisingpharmaceuticalproducts have been tested on subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The mainfocus of treatment is to augment the acetylcholine in the brain to compensate the loss of cholinergic function but the outcomes are often unsatisfactory as there is a lack of cure or to prevent the disease progression. According to Siddha system, the nervous system disorders are considered to occur due to imbalances of vatham(Biological air humor), the energy that moves through the brain and the nerves.This system classifies 80 types of vatha disease and the Alzheimer’s disease is one among its types.In this scenario, traditional herbs are now gaining worldwide attention due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cognitive enhancing potential. The present article reviews selected herbs such as Bacopa monnieri(Brammi), Withaniasomnifera(Amukkara), Clitoriaternaetea(Kaakataan), Centella asiatica(Vallaarai), Curcuma longa(Manjal), Glycyrrhiza glabra(Athimadhuram), Tinospora cordifolia (Seenthil)that have been indicated in siddha literature for brain and neurodegenerative diseases (Narambu uramaki) for their neuroprotective and multitargeted roles towards Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The review concludes that medicinal plants can have great potential for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

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