Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Neurochemistry, Kraków, Poland.
Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Neurochemistry, Kraków, Poland.
Pharmacol Rep. 2017 Oct;69(5):851-860. doi: 10.1016/j.pharep.2017.03.018. Epub 2017 Apr 30.
Disturbance of cerebral redox homeostasis is the primary cause of human neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. Well known experimental research demonstrates that oxidative stress is a main cause of cell death. A high concentration of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species leads to damage of a lot of proteins, lipids and also DNA. Synthetic compounds used for the treatment in the neurodegenerative diseases failed to meet the hopes they had raised and often exhibit a number of side effects. Therefore, in recent years interest in natural compounds derived from plants appears to be on the rise. This review describes a few natural compounds (1MeTIQ, resveratrol, curcumin, vitamin C and Gingko biloba) which revealed neuroprotective potential both in experimental studies and clinical trials. 1MeTIQ has a privileged position because, as opposed to the remaining compounds, it is an endogenous amine synthesized in human and animal brain. Based on evidence from research, it seems that a common protective mechanism for all the above-mentioned natural compounds relies on their ability to inhibit or even scavenge the excess of free radicals generated in oxidative and neurotoxin-induced processes in nerve cells of the brain. However, it was demonstrated that further different molecular processes connected with neurotoxicity (e.g. the inhibition of mitochondrial complex I, activation of caspase-3, apoptosis) follow later and are initiated by the reactive oxygen species. What is more, these natural compounds are able to inhibit further stages of apoptosis triggered by neurotoxins in the brain.
大脑氧化还原稳态的紊乱是人类神经退行性疾病（如帕金森病或阿尔茨海默病）的主要原因。众所周知的实验研究表明，氧化应激是细胞死亡的主要原因。高浓度的活性氧和氮物种会导致大量蛋白质、脂质和 DNA 的损伤。用于治疗神经退行性疾病的合成化合物未能满足人们的期望，并且经常表现出许多副作用。因此，近年来，人们对源自植物的天然化合物的兴趣似乎在上升。本文综述了几种天然化合物（1MeTIQ、白藜芦醇、姜黄素、维生素 C 和银杏叶），它们在实验研究和临床试验中都显示出了神经保护潜力。1MeTIQ 具有特殊的地位，因为与其他化合物不同，它是在人和动物大脑中合成的内源性胺。基于研究证据，似乎所有上述天然化合物的共同保护机制都依赖于它们抑制甚至清除氧化和神经毒素诱导的脑细胞中自由基过量产生的能力。然而，已经证明，与神经毒性有关的进一步不同的分子过程（例如，抑制线粒体复合物 I、激活 caspase-3、细胞凋亡）随后发生，并由活性氧引发。更重要的是，这些天然化合物能够抑制神经毒素在大脑中引发的进一步的细胞凋亡阶段。
