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Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the excessive deposition of extracellular amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) and the build-up of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing hyperphosphorylated tau proteins. This leads to neuronal damage, cell death and consequently results in memory and learning impairments leading to dementia. Although the exact cause of AD is not yet clear, numerous studies indicate that oxidative stress, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction significantly contribute to its onset and progression. There is no effective therapeutic approach to stop the progression of AD and its associated symptoms. Thus, early intervention, preferably, pre-clinically when the brain is not significantly affected, is a better option for effective treatment. Natural polyphenols (PP) target multiple AD-related pathways such as protecting the brain from Aβ and tau neurotoxicity, ameliorating oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. Among natural products, the cereal crop sorghum has some unique features. It is one of the major global grain crops but in the developed world, it is primarily used as feed for farm animals. A broad range of PP, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and condensed tannins are present in sorghum grain including some classes such as proanthocyanidins that are rarely found in others plants. Pigmented varieties of sorghum have the highest polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity which potentially makes their consumption beneficial for human health through different pathways such as oxidative stress reduction and thus the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. This review summarizes the potential of sorghum PP to beneficially affect the neuropathology of AD.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by different neuropathological features including excessive accumulation of Aβ peptides outside of neurons and the hyperphosphorylated form of tau protein inside neurons (Duyckaerts et al, 2009)
Available medication for AD is extremely limited in efficacy, more studies should be conducted to discover new preventative and therapeutic agents
Studies on the effects of natural products such as polyphenolic antioxidants on AD pathological hallmarks are appearing in the scientific literature with increase regularity
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by different neuropathological features including excessive accumulation of Aβ peptides outside of neurons and the hyperphosphorylated form of tau protein inside neurons (Duyckaerts et al, 2009). The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five symptomatic drugs for the treatment of AD, including three cholinesterase inhibitors (rivastigmine, galantamine, donepezil) and memantine and memantine mixed with donepezil (Alzheimer’s Association, 2019) These treatments reduce the rate of progression of cognitive decline by increasing the neurotransmitters in the brain, but they are unable to prevent irreversible damage to neurons (Sivaraman et al, 2019). Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia (Puglielli et al, 2003) with the clinical symptoms of progressive memory decline and other cognitive functions, eventually leading to an inability to do daily tasks and a reliance on care (Long and Holtzman, 2019) It is pathologically characterized by the accumulation of extracellular Aβ oligomers, hyper-phosphorylation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs; tau protein) and neuroinflammation in the brain (Sadhukhan et al, 2018).
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