Natural multi-target modulators of pathological pathways in Alzheimer's disease isolated from the Rhinella arenarum skin

Abstract

The skin of anuran amphibians is a rich source of compounds with great medicinal potential. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex disease associated with numerous pathological pathways, making their simultaneous modulation necessary. Nowadays the development of anti-AD drugs is focused on a Multi-Target Directed Ligands strategy. Herein we report the bioactivity of the skin extracts of the toad Rhinella arenarum obtained by an invasive and non-invasive methods, against five AD pathological targets (AChE, BChE, MAO-B, antioxidant and chelating activities). The extract derived from the non-invasive technique showed the highest biological activity, being capable of acting on all or almost all the pathological targets of AD, while also avoiding harm to the animal.

Graphical abstract

Keywords:

• Rhinella arenarum
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cholinesterases
• Monoamine Oxidase

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful to the grant PICT-2017-0035 that supported this work. PICT - Agentes terapéuticos para el tratamiento de enfermedades neurodegenerativas: Diseño de péptidos y peptidomimeticos con actividad anticolinesterásica. Director: Alvaro Siano.