Abstract
In mammals, sexual hormones such as estrogens play an essential role in maintaining brain homeostasis and function. Estrogen deficit in the brain induces many undesirable symptoms such as learning and memory impairment, sleep and mood disorders, hot flushes, and fatigue. These symptoms are frequent in women who reached menopausal age or have had ovariectomy and in men and women subjected to anti-estrogen therapy. Hormone replacement therapy alleviates menopause symptoms; however, it can increase cardiovascular and cancer diseases. In the search for therapeutic alternatives, medicinal plants and specific synthetic and natural molecules with estrogenic effects have attracted widespread attention between the public and the scientific community. Various plants have been used for centuries to alleviate menstrual and menopause symptoms, such as Cranberry, Ginger, Hops, Milk Thistle, Red clover, Salvia officinalis, Soy, Black cohosh, Turnera diffusa, Ushuva, and Vitex. This review aims to highlight current evidence about estrogenic medicinal plants and their pharmacological effects on cognitive deficits induced by estrogen deficiency during menopause and aging.
Highlights
Sex hormones such as androgens and estrogens significantly influence behavior (Hamson et al, 2016) and support learning and memory (Andreano and Cahill, 2009; Munro et al, 2012; Colciago et al, 2015; Kerschbaum et al, 2017)
The deficit of estrogen is involved in the development or progression of various types of autoimmune diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, obesity, insulin resistance, and neurodegenerative diseases and mood disorders
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) positively impacts cognitive abilities and immune function, but its benefits seem to be restricted to the early stages of menopause
Summary
Sex hormones such as androgens and estrogens significantly influence behavior (Hamson et al, 2016) and support learning and memory (Andreano and Cahill, 2009; Munro et al, 2012; Colciago et al, 2015; Kerschbaum et al, 2017). The effects of sex hormones on cognition may explain the differences in cognitive abilities among sexes. Experimental and epidemiological studies suggest that female sex hormones are neuroprotective, preventing cognitive decline during aging. The discovery that brain regions involved in learning and memory, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, differed in structure and function between sexes suggested that sex hormones played a role in cognition (Kapur et al, 1995; Gasbarri et al, 2012; Pompili et al, 2012).
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