Neuroprotective Role of Medicinal Plants from North Eastern Region of India

The term neurodegenerative disease means the loss of neuronal cells in the brain, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease. It is one of the most common types of disease associated with elevated rates of mortality and morbidity worldwide. At the same time, modern allopathic medicines have a large number of synthetic chemicals for the symptomatic treatment and control of these diseases. These drugs have failed miserably due to clinical insufficiency and debilitating adverse effects. In the past decade, natural ingredients have gained notable interest in the prevention and treatment of neurodegeneration due to their powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties with minimal side effects. However, there is also an issue of safety and effectiveness due to the absence of an ample amount of research findings. The most common cellular mechanism for every neurodegenerative disorder is neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Several preclinical and clinical studies conducted across the world have demonstrated that different bioactive compounds of herbal origin can potentially arrest these processes to prevent or treat neurodegeneration and can be developed into promising pharmaceutical formulations. This article discusses and analyses the various herbal compounds, such as Allium sativum, Camella sinensis, Centella asiatica, Coriandrum sativum, Crocus sativus, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and Morus alba used for phytotherapy of neurodegenerative diseases by combining recent in vitro and in vivo models.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Amyloid-beta, Huntington’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease.