The neuroprotective effect of traditional Chinese medicinal plants-A critical review.
10.1016/j.apsb.2023.06.009
- Author:
João MOREIRA
1
;
Mariana MACHADO
2
;
Mónica DIAS-TEIXEIRA
1
;
Ricardo FERRAZ
2
;
Cristina DELERUE-MATOS
1
;
Clara GROSSO
1
Author Information
1. REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Porto 4249-015, Portugal.
2. Ciências Químicas e das Biomoléculas/CISA, Escola Superior de Saúde-Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Porto 4200-072, Portugal.
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease;
Clinical trials;
Depression;
Medicinal plants;
Neurodegeneration;
Oxidative stress;
Parkinson's disease;
Toxicology
- From:
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
2023;13(8):3208-3237
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases are increasingly affecting individuals' quality of life, thus increasing their cost to social and health systems. These diseases have overlapping mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, protein aggregation, neuroinflammation, neurotransmission impairment, mitochondrial dysfunction, and excitotoxicity. Currently, there is no cure for neurodegenerative diseases, and the available therapies have adverse effects and low efficacy. For neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression, the current therapies are not adequate to one-third of the patients, the so-called treatment-resistant patients. So, searching for new treatments is fundamental. Medicinal plants appear as a strong alternative and complement towards new treatment protocols, as they have been used for health purposes for thousands of years. Thus, the main goal of this review is to revisit the neuroprotective potential of some of the most predominant medicinal plants (and one fungus) used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), focusing on their proven mechanisms of action and their chemical compositions, to give clues on how they can be useful against neurodegeneration progression.
