Plant-Derived Natural Compounds for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Update

An overview: total synthesis of arborisidine, and arbornamine

Arborisidine and Arbornamine are two monoterpenoid indole alkaloids that were isolated from the Malayan Kopsia arborea plant. This review provides valuable information about the total and formal syntheses of these alkaloids. The synthesis strategies discussed in this review, such as Pictet-Spengler cyclization, chemo- and stereoselective oxidative cyclization, Michael/Mannich cascade process, and intramolecular N-alkylation, can be useful for developing new methods to synthesize these and other similar compounds.

Therapeutic potential of Aloe vera-coated curcumin encapsulated nanoparticles in an Alzheimer-induced mice model: behavioural, biochemical and histopathological evidence

OBJECTIVE

The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Aloe vera-coated curcumin encapsulated nanoparticles in mitigating Alzheimer's disease progression in mice, by examining behavioural changes, biochemical markers, and histopathological alterations, thus elucidating its potential as a treatment strategy.

METHODS

The green synthesis method was used to synthesise this nanoformulation, which was then characterised using a variety of techniques, including percentage encapsulation efficacy, UV-visible spectroscopy, DLS, FT-IR, FESEM, and EDX. Several in-vivo assessments, including behavioural evaluations, dose optimisation studies, oxidative stress marker estimation, and histological studies, were conducted to determine the potential therapeutic impact of nanoformulation on the Alzheimer-induced mice model.

RESULTS

The synthesised nanoparticles show a mean diameter of 76.12 nm ±1.23, a PDI of 0.313 ± 0.02, a zeta potential of 6.27 ± 0.65 mV, and the percentage encapsulation efficiency between 90% and 95% indicating good stability of synthesised nanoformulation. With the help of Morris water maze, Y-maze, and novel object recognition assay, the learning capacity and memory were assessed, and the results show that the synthesised nanoformulation significantly decreased the transfer latency to reach baited arm or to the hidden platform within 7 days.

CONCLUSION

The formulation demonstrated significant biochemical benefits and remarkable cognitive advantages, establishing it as a prospective therapeutic intervention option that is both safe and effective.

Medicinal herbal remedies in neurodegenerative diseases: an update on antioxidant potential

It has been widely documented that medicinal herbal remedies are effective, have fewer side effects than conventional medicine, and have a synergistic effect on health collaborations in the fight against complicated diseases. Traditional treatments for neurological problems in ancient times sometimes involved the use of herbal remedies and conventional methods from East Asian countries including India, Japan, China, and Korea. We collected and reviewed studies on plant-derived neuroprotective drugs and tested them in neurotoxic models. Basic research, preclinical and clinical transgene research can benefit from in silico, in vitro, and in vivo investigations. Research, summaries of the extracts, fractions, and herbal ingredients were compiled from popular scientific databases, which were then examined according to origin and bioactivity. Given the complex and varied causes of neurodegeneration, it may be beneficial to focus on multiple mechanisms of action and a neuroprotection approach. This approach aims to prevent cell death and restore function to damaged neurons, offering promising strategies for preventing and treating neurodegenerative diseases. Neurodegenerative illnesses can potentially be treated with natural compounds that have been identified as neuroprotective agents. To gain deeper insights into the neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective and therapeutic properties of naturally occurring antioxidant phytochemical compounds in diverse neurodegenerative diseases, this study aims to comprehensively review such compounds, focusing on their modulation of apoptotic markers such as caspase, Bax, Bcl-2, and proinflammatory markers. In addition, we delve into a range of efficacies of antioxidant phytochemical compounds as neuroprotective agents in animal models. They reduce the oxidative stress of the brain and have been shown to have anti-apoptotic effects. Many researches have demonstrated that plant extracts or bioactive compounds can fight neurodegenerative disorders. Herbal medications may offer neurodegenerative disease patients' new treatments. This may be a cheaper and more culturally appropriate alternative to standard drugs for millions of people with age-related NDDs.

An Update on the Application of Nano Phytomedicine as an Emerging Therapeutic Tool for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract:

The existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a densely woven network of blood vessels and endothelial cells designed to prevent the infiltration of foreign substances into the brain, the methods employed in developing treatments for neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Multiple sclerosis, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and others, pose significant challenges and complexities. These illnesses have had a terrible impact on the human population's health. Because early detection of these problems is poor and no good therapy has been established, they have emerged as the biggest lifethreatening healthcare burden worldwide compared to other significant illnesses. Traditional drug delivery techniques do not offer efficient treatment for NDs due to constraints in the BBB design, efflux pumps, and metabolic enzyme expression. Nanotechnology has the potential to significantly enhance ND therapy by utilizing systems that have been bioengineered to engage with living organisms at the cellular range. Compared to traditional techniques, nanotechnological technologies have several potential ways for crossing the BBB and increasing therapeutic efficacy in the brain. The introduction and growth of nanotechnology indicate promising potential for overcoming this issue. Engineered nanoparticles coupled with therapeutic moieties and imaging agents with dimensions ranging from 1-100 nm can improve effectiveness, cellular uptake, selective transport, and drug delivery to the brain due to their changed physicochemical properties. Conjugates of nanoparticles and medicinal plants, or their constituents known as nano phytomedicine, have recently gained importance in developing cutting-edge neuro-therapeutics due to their abundant natural supply, promising targeted delivery to the brain, and lower potential for adverse effects. This study summarizes the common NDs, their prevalence and pathogenesis, and potential herbal nanoformulation for treating NDs.

Therapeutic potential of stilbenes in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders: A comprehensive review of preclinical and clinical evidence

Neuropsychiatric disorders are anticipated to be a leading health concern in the near future, emphasizing an outstanding need for the development of new effective therapeutics to treat them. Stilbenes, with resveratrol attracting the most attention, are an example of multi-target compounds with promising therapeutic potential for a broad array of neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions. This review is a comprehensive summary of the current state of research on stilbenes in several neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disorders. We describe and discuss the results of both in vitro and in vivo studies. The majority of studies concentrate on resveratrol, with limited findings exploring other stilbenes such as pterostilbene, piceatannol, polydatin, tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside, or synthetic resveratrol derivatives. Overall, although extensive preclinical studies show the potential benefits of stilbenes in various central nervous system disorders, clinical evidence on their therapeutic efficacy is largely missing.

Role of Natural Compounds Modulating Heme Catabolic Pathway in Gut, Liver, Cardiovascular, and Brain Diseases

The crucial physiological process of heme breakdown yields biliverdin (BV) and bilirubin (BR) as byproducts. BV, BR, and the enzymes involved in their production (the "yellow players-YP") are increasingly documented as endogenous modulators of human health. Mildly elevated serum bilirubin concentration has been correlated with a reduced risk of multiple chronic pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory diseases, especially in the elderly. BR and BV per se have been demonstrated to protect against neurodegenerative diseases, in which heme oxygenase (HMOX), the main enzyme in the production of pigments, is almost always altered. HMOX upregulation has been interpreted as a tentative defense against the ongoing pathologic mechanisms. With the demonstration that multiple cells possess YP, their propensity to be modulated, and their broad spectrum of activity on multiple signaling pathways, the YP have assumed the role of an adjustable system that can promote health in adults. Based on that, there is an ongoing effort to induce their activity as a therapeutic option, and natural compounds are an attractive alternative to the goal, possibly requiring only minimal changes in the life style. We review the most recent evidence of the potential of natural compounds in targeting the YP in the context of the most common pathologic condition of adult and elderly life.

Paradigms and Success Stories of Natural Products in Drug Discovery Against Neurodegenerative Disorders (NDDs)

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) are multifaceted complex disorders that have put a great health and economic burden around the globe nowadays. The multi-factorial nature of NDDs has presented a great challenge in drug discovery and continuous efforts are in progress in search of suitable therapeutic candidates. Nature has a great wealth of active principles in its lap that has cured the human population since ancient times. Natural products have revealed several benefits over conventional synthetic medications and scientists have shifted their vision towards exploring the therapeutic potentials of natural products in the past few years. The structural mimicking of natural compounds to endogenous ligands has presented them as a potential therapeutic candidate to prevent the development of NDDs. In the presented review, authors have summarized demographical facts about various NDDs including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD) and various types of sclerosis in the brain. The significant findings of new active principles of natural origin along with their therapeutic potentials on NDDs have been included. Also, a description of clinical trials and patents on natural products has been enlisted in this compilation. Although natural products have shown promising success in drug discovery against NDDs, still their use is associated with several ethical issues which need to be solved in the upcoming time.

Lavender Plant: Farming and Health Benefits

Natural remedies from a range of sources, including plants, animals, microorganisms, and marine life, have made a significant contribution to the treatment of many ailments. Lavender is a Mediterranean shrub from the Lamiaceae family. Lavender flowers (Lavandula flores) include active ingredients (3%), anthocyanins, sugars, phytosterols, minerals, and tannins and are majorly used for herbal applications. Lavender essential oil's descriptive and analytical composition varies depending on genotype, growing region, climatic circumstances, propagation, and morphological characteristics. There are around 300 chemical components in essential oil. Linalool, terpinen-4-ol, linalyl acetate, ocimene, acetate lavandulol, and cineole are the most prominent constituents. Lavender oil has antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The lavender extract helps to prevent dementia and may slow cancer cell growth, while lavender oil is used to treat skin problems. This review will cover the recent medical, economic and regional advancements in levander propagation and how the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research Indian Institute of Integrative (CSIR IIIM) aroma mission is actively acting as a bridge between farmers and their economic improvement by attracting them to the field of medicinal plant cultivation.

Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activity of Malva sylvestris L: A Detailed Insight

Malva sylvestris L., is commonly referred to as Mallow and is found in Europe, Asia and Africa. This has been traditionally used for inflammation, gastrointestinal disturbances, skin disorders, menstrual pains, and urological disorders. This review covers phytoconstituents and Pharmacological activities of M. sylvestris. The plant contains a large number of phytochemical constituents having diverse pharmacological activities. The plant contains many phenolic compounds responsible for its strong antioxidant activity. Coumarins from Mallow have a potential anticancer activity. Malva sylvestris also contains essential as well as non-essential elements and minerals. Many researchers have provided evidence that Malva sylvestris is a good candidate for use as a medicinal herb and has good nutritional value. The leaves, in particular, offer properties like anticancer, skin whitening, and anti-aging. Furthermore, the aqueous extract was recently shown to have an anti-ulcerogenic effect. Malva sylvestris has a high potential for use in cosmetics such as skin whitening and anti-aging treatments. Methanolic extracts of Malva sylvestris leaves, and flowers showed strong antibacterial activity against a common plant pathogen bacterium. The plant also contains Malvone A, which is responsible for antibacterial action. The plant also possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wound healing properties and various other activities.

Computational study of the motor neuron protein KIF5A to identify nsSNPs, bioactive compounds, and its key regulators

Introduction: Kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) is a motor neuron protein expressed in neurons and involved in anterograde transportation of organelles, proteins, and RNA. Variations in the KIF5A gene that interfere with axonal transport have emerged as a distinguishing feature in several neurodegenerative disorders, including hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP10), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Methods: In this study, we implemented a computational structural and systems biology approach to uncover the role of KIF5A in ALS. Using the computational structural biology method, we explored the role of non-synonymous Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (nsSNPs) in KIF5A. Further, to identify the potential inhibitory molecule against the highly destabilizing structure variant, we docked 24 plant-derived phytochemicals involved in ALS. Results: We found KIF5AS291F variant showed the most structure destabilizing behavior and the phytocompound "epigallocatechin gallate" showed the highest binding affinity (-9.0 Kcal/mol) as compared to wild KIF5A (-8.4 Kcal/mol). Further, with the systems biology approach, we constructed the KIF5A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to identify the associated Kinesin Families (KIFs) proteins, modules, and their function. We also constructed a transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory network of KIF5A. With the network topological parameters of PPIN (Degree, Bottleneck, Closeness, and MNC) using CytoHubba and computational knock-out experiment using Network Analyzer, we found KIF1A, 5B, and 5C were the significant proteins. The functional modules were highly enriched with microtubule motor activity, chemical synaptic transmission in neurons, GTP binding, and GABA receptor activity. In regulatory network analysis, we found KIF5A post-transcriptionally down-regulated by miR-107 which is further transcriptionally up-regulated by four TFs (HIF1A, PPARA, SREBF1, and TP53) and down-regulated by three TFs (ZEB1, ZEB2, and LIN28A). Discussion: We concluded our study by finding a crucial variant of KIF5A and its potential therapeutic target (epigallocatechin gallate) and KIF5A associated significant genes with important regulators which could decrypt the novel therapeutics in ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Epigallocatechin Gallate: A Multifaceted Molecule for Neurological Disorders and Neurotropic Viral Infections

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a polyphenolic moiety found in green tea extracts, exhibits pleiotropic bioactivities to combat many diseases including neurological ailments. These neurological diseases include Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. For instance, in the case of Alzheimer's disease, the formation of a β-sheet in the region of the 10th-21st amino acids was significantly reduced in EGCG-induced oligomeric samples of Aβ40. Its interference induces the formation of Aβ structures with an increase in intercenter-of-mass distances, reduction in interchain/intrachain contacts, reduction in β-sheet propensity, and increase in α-helix. Besides, numerous neurotropic viruses are known to instigate or aggravate neurological ailments. It exerts an effect on the oxidative damage caused in neurodegenerative disorders by acting on GSK3-β, PI3K/Akt, and downstream signaling pathways via caspase-3 and cytochrome-c. EGCG also diminishes these viral-mediated effects, such as EGCG delayed HSV-1 infection by blocking the entry for virions, inhibitory effects on NS3/4A protease or NS5B polymerase of HCV and potent inhibitor of ZIKV NS2B-NS3pro/NS3 serine protease (NS3-SP). It showed a reduction in the neurotoxic properties of HIV-gp120 and Tat in the presence of IFN-γ. EGCG also involves numerous viral-mediated inflammatory cascades, such as JAK/STAT. Nonetheless, it also inhibits the Epstein-Barr virus replication protein (Zta and Rta). Moreover, it also impedes certain viruses (influenza A and B strains) by hijacking the endosomal and lysosomal compartments. Therefore, the current article aims to describe the importance of EGCG in numerous neurological diseases and its inhibitory effect against neurotropic viruses.

Recent Trends and Practices Toward Assessment and Rehabilitation of Neurodegenerative Disorders: Insights From Human Gait

The study of human movement and biomechanics forms an integral part of various clinical assessments and provides valuable information toward diagnosing neurodegenerative disorders where the motor symptoms predominate. Conventional gait and postural balance analysis techniques like force platforms, motion cameras, etc., are complex, expensive equipment requiring specialist operators, thereby posing a significant challenge toward translation to the clinics. The current manuscript presents an overview and relevant literature summarizing the umbrella of factors associated with neurodegenerative disorder management: from the pathogenesis and motor symptoms of commonly occurring disorders to current alternate practices toward its quantification and mitigation. This article reviews recent advances in technologies and methodologies for managing important neurodegenerative gait and balance disorders, emphasizing assessment and rehabilitation/assistance. The review predominantly focuses on the application of inertial sensors toward various facets of gait analysis, including event detection, spatiotemporal gait parameter measurement, estimation of joint kinematics, and postural balance analysis. In addition, the use of other sensing principles such as foot-force interaction measurement, electromyography techniques, electrogoniometers, force-myography, ultrasonic, piezoelectric, and microphone sensors has also been explored. The review also examined the commercially available wearable gait analysis systems. Additionally, a summary of recent progress in therapeutic approaches, viz., wearables, virtual reality (VR), and phytochemical compounds, has also been presented, explicitly targeting the neuro-motor and functional impairments associated with these disorders. Efforts toward therapeutic and functional rehabilitation through VR, wearables, and different phytochemical compounds are presented using recent examples of research across the commonly occurring neurodegenerative conditions [viz., Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)]. Studies exploring the potential role of Phyto compounds in mitigating commonly associated neurodegenerative pathologies such as mitochondrial dysfunction, α-synuclein accumulation, imbalance of free radicals, etc., are also discussed in breadth. Parameters such as joint angles, plantar pressure, and muscle force can be measured using portable and wearable sensors like accelerometers, gyroscopes, footswitches, force sensors, etc. Kinetic foot insoles and inertial measurement tools are widely explored for studying kinematic and kinetic parameters associated with gait. With advanced correlation algorithms and extensive RCTs, such measurement techniques can be an effective clinical and home-based monitoring and rehabilitation tool for neuro-impaired gait. As evident from the present literature, although the vast majority of works reported are not clinically and extensively validated to derive a firm conclusion about the effectiveness of such techniques, wearable sensors present a promising impact toward dealing with neurodegenerative motor disorders.

Identification of Molecular Correlations Between DHRS4 and Progressive Neurodegeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis By Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease, and its candidate biomarkers have not yet been fully elucidated in previous studies. Therefore, with the present study, we aim to define and verify effective biomarkers of ALS by bioinformatics. Here, we employed differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), enrichment analysis, immune infiltration analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) to identify biomarkers of ALS. To validate the biomarkers, we isolated the lumbar spinal cord from mice and characterized them using Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The results showed that Dhrs4 expression in the spinal cord was upregulated with the progression of SOD1G93A mice, and the upregulation of DHRS4 and its synergistic DHRS3 might be primarily associated with the activation of the complement cascade in the immune system (C1QA, C1QB, C1QC, C3, and ITGB2), which might be a novel mechanism that induces spinal neurodegeneration in ALS. We propose that DHRS4 and its synergistic DHRS3 are promising molecular markers for detecting ALS progression.