title: Herbal natural products as a source of monoamine oxidase inhibitors: a review.
abstract: Drugs of natural origin still play a major role in the treatment of many diseases and as lead structures for the development of new synthetic drug substances. This review article deals the pharmacological effects on the Central Nervous System (CNS) of some plant extracts and their isolated chemical components due to their monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity. Herbs and herbal preparations containing MAO-A inhibitors have been widely used as an effective alternative in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases such as depression. Inhibitors of MAO-B not only enhance dopaminergic neurotransmission but also prevent activation of toxin and free radical formation, alleviating the process of neuron denaturalization, on account of which they are used in Parkinson disease (PD). Several methods have been developed for monitoring MAO activity and its inhibitor screening of bioactive natural products.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782-Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Viña
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lamela
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Delogu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000378:metabolism*; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase