Herbs to curb cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase and their potential role in Alzheimer's disease

Mech Ageing Dev. 2015 Jul:149:75-87. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2015.05.009. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

Abstract

Cyclic nucleotides viz., cAMP/cGMP has been well known to play important role in cellular function and deficiency in their levels has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Phosphodiesterases (PDE) are the enzymes involved in the metabolism of cyclic nucleotides and the inhibition of phosphodiesterases is considered to be viable strategy to restore the level of cyclic nucleotides and their functions in the brain. Various synthetic PDE inhibitors had been used clinically for various disorders and also suggested to be useful candidates for treating neurological disorders. However, side effects of these synthetic PDE inhibitors have limited their use in clinical practice. Natural plant extracts or their bio-active compounds are considered to be safe and are widely acceptable. During the last decade, many plant extracts or their bio-active compounds were tested pre-clinically for PDE inhibitory activity and are reported to be equally potent in inhibiting PDE's, as that of synthetic compounds. The present review is aimed to discuss the potential plant extract/compounds with PDE inhibitory activity and critically discuss their potential role in Alzheimer's disease.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Cognitive functions; Herbal plants; Learning and memory; Phosphodiesterase.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy*
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Brain / drug effects
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Cognition
  • Humans
  • Learning
  • Memory
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / drug therapy
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / metabolism
  • Nucleotides, Cyclic
  • Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / chemistry*
  • Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / metabolism*
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Nucleotides, Cyclic
  • Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors
  • Plant Extracts
  • Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases