Abstract
Dementias is a kind of neurodegenerative disease, which occurs among the aging population. Current therapeutic outcome for dementia is limited. The medical use of herbal plant has a rich history in traditional Chinese medicine practice for thousands of years. Herbal medicine (HM) may provide a positive effect for prevention and treatment in dementia. As an alternative treatment to dementia, there has been a growing interest in HM extracts in scientific community as a result of its promising study results, mainly in animal experiment. At the molecular level, HM extracts trigger autophagy and reduce generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) while inhibiting inflammation and reduce neurotoxicity. Experiments both in vivo and in vitro have identified certain potential of HM extracts and natural products as an important regulator factor in mediating autophagy, which might contribute to the improvement of dementia. This brief review not only summarizes the mechanism of autophagy in dementia but also offers a general understanding of the therapeutic mechanism of HM extracts in treating dementia and evaluates the potential clinical practice of HM in general.
Highlights
Dementias, mainly including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD), are characterized by memory loss, damaged judgment, and language barrier seriously affecting daily life (Xu et al, 2019)
Tanshinone IIA blocking the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2) protein and reduce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Kong et al, 2021) Resveratrol inhibit inflammation via decreasing expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α (Zhao et al, 2019) Ethanol extract of Cortex Phellodendron amurensis promote the survival of nerve cells under toxic situation by increasing the level of Bcl-2/Bax protein (Xian et al, 2013) Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids attenuated neuronal damage through decreasing the expression of antioxidative protein Nrf2, HO1, and NQO1 (Yu et al, 2020) Curcumin improved spatial learning and memory via upregulating the expression of IGF-1R, IRS-2, and Akt (Natascia et al, 2014)
Numerous studies have shown that the overgeneration of reactive oxygen species and inactive antioxidant defenses result in the failure in removing free radicals or fixing organ damage that leads to the occurrence of oxidative stress, which is considered as a key role in the pathogenesis of dementias (Mao, 2012)
Summary
Mainly including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) (the two major form of dementia), are characterized by memory loss, damaged judgment, and language barrier seriously affecting daily life (Xu et al, 2019). It is estimated by the WHO report based on epidemiological data that the number of people across the world suffering from dementias will jump to 81.1 million by 2040 (Le Couteur et al, 2020). The hallmark of dementia is characterized by accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) and hyper-phosphorylated Tau protein The overexpression of these hallmarks often indicate neurodegenerative disorders that may turn into severe pathology. Targeting these hallmarks may relieve the symptoms of dementias on the whole, and triggering autophagy by HM extracts is likely to be an alternative treatment for dementias (Padilla, 2019; Paik et al, 2020)
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