Premium
Diet, Nutrition, and Botanicals in Minimizing the Risk of Alzheimerˈs Disease
Author(s) -
Dey Ipsita,
Chitre Deepa
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.lb444
Subject(s) - medicine , evening primrose , disease , adverse effect , ginseng , traditional medicine , alternative medicine , intensive care medicine , pharmacology , pathology
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease commonly afflicting the elderly. In the United States, it was the 7 th major cause of death in 2010, claiming almost 5.3 million lives. The paucity of FDA approved drugs, their modest benefits, and serious adverse reactions are of utmost concern. Besides novel therapies currently being researched, proper diets, nutrition, functional foods, and botanicals are also under investigation for future therapies. In order to gain current knowledge about herbal prospects for AD, we performed a web based literature search on the use of herbal extracts or plant based formulations and their neuroprotective effects in different preclinical and clinical studies. Interestingly, several reports showed promising evidence for the use of herbal supplements, which include, but are not limited to: ashwagandha, evening primrose, garlic, oriental ginseng, gingko, neem, rosemary, water hyssop, turmeric, and zedoary. However, larger well controlled studies with longer treatment periods are required to assess efficacy on cognition and memory, as well as other issues, such as contaminating pesticides and heavy metals which can aggravate the progression of AD.