Anti-Oxytotic/Ferroptotic Neuroprotection by Medicinal Plants from Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Dementia in sub-Saharan Africa has been largely underestimated, but the cases are expected to increase substantially as African countries are experiencing highrates of growthin older people. As conventional medicine is expensive and often inaccessible, the majority of the communities in Africa rely on traditional medicine for basic health care. Plants may be a valuable source of neurotherapeutics, particularly of inhibitors of oxytosis/ferroptosis, a neurodegenerative pathway associated with dementia. This study evaluated the anti-oxytotic/ferroptotic activity of different plants used in the traditional medicine of Côte d’Ivoire. Ten plant species (Adenia cissampeloides, Adenia lobata, Entada mannii, Enantia polycarpa, Harungana madagascariensis, Kigelia africana, Terminalia ivorensis, Terminalia mantaly, Terminalia superba and Vernonia amygdalina) were selected based on their traditional use and the respective parts were collected in the Agboville region of South-eastern Côte d’Ivoire. Extracts were prepared by maceration in water and tested for protection in a nerve cell culture model of oxytosis/ferroptosis. The neuroprotective effects of the extracts werefurther evaluated in additional cell-based assays, including intracellular Aβ toxicity, energy loss, inflammation and neurite differentiation. Terminalia ivorensis, Terminalia mantaly and Terminalia superba offered the best protection overall in the assays. They provided strong inhibition of oxytosis/ferroptosis as well as excellent protection against intracellular Aβ toxicity and energy loss. Additional studies are required to confirm the efficacy of these plants as neurotherapeutics, but the findings highlight the potential of plants used in the traditional medicine of Côte d’Ivoire to provide new treatments for dementia.