Effects and mechanisms of natural products on Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in elderly people with a high incidence rate and complicated pathogenesis, and causes progressive cognitive deficit and memory impairment. Some natural products and bioactive compounds from natural sources show great potential in the prevention and treatment of AD, such as apple, blueberries, grapes, chili pepper, Monsonia angustifolia, cruciferous vegetables, Herba epimedii, Angelica tenuissima, Embelia ribes, sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa, green tea, Puer tea, Amanita caesarea and Inonotus obliquus, via reducing amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition, decreasing Tau hyperphosphorylation, regulating cholinergic system, reducing oxidative stress, inhibiting apoptosis and ameliorating inflammation. This review mainly summarizes the effects of some natural products and their bioactive compounds on AD with the potential molecular mechanisms.

Keywords:

• Natural product
• Alzheimer’s disease
• mechanisms
• oxidative stress
• neuroinflammation

Author’s contribution

Zhijun Yang, Hua-Bin Li and Hui-Lian Zhu conceptualized this study. Zhijun Yang, Dan-Dan Zhou and Si-Yu Huang wrote the original draft of this manuscript. Hua-Bin Li, Hui-Lian Zhu and Ai-Ping Fang contributed in reviewing and editing.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFC1604405) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81773415).