title: Phytomedicines as potential inhibitors of β amyloid aggregation: significance to Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Throughout the history of drug development, plants have been an important source for the discovery of novel therapeutically active compounds for many diseases. The ethnopharmacological approach has provided several leads to identify potential new drugs from plant sources, including those for memory disorders. For the treatment of Alzheimer's disease the drug discovery focus shifted from cholinesterase inhibitors, to other targets primarily based on two key neuropathological hallmarks, namely the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein resulting in the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and the increased formation and aggregation of amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) derived from amyloid precursor protein (APP). The present article aims to provide a comprehensive literature survey of plants and their constituents that have been tested for Aβ aggregation, thus possibly relieving several features of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research [NIPER-H], Balanagar, Hyderabad-500037, India. Electronic address: satish@niperhyd.ac.in.
authors.forename: N Satheesh
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Aurigene Discovery Technologies, Hyderabad-500049, India.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nisha
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D006801:Humans; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D066263:Protein Aggregation, Pathological / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides
keywords: Amyloid-beta peptide; Medicinal plants; Plant-derived pharmaceuticals; Thioflavin T; β amyloid aggregation