School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen AB10 7GJ, UK.
Molecules. 2018 Dec 11;23(12):3283. doi: 10.3390/molecules23123283.
Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, present a major health issue and financial burden for health care systems around the world. The impact of these diseases will further increase over the next decades due to increasing life expectancies. No cure is currently available for the treatment of these conditions; only drugs, which merely alleviate the symptoms. Oxidative stress has long been associated with neurodegeneration, whether as a cause or as part of the downstream results caused by other factors. Thus, the use of antioxidants to counter cellular oxidative stress within the nervous system has been suggested as a potential treatment option for neurological disorders. Over the last decade, significant research has focused on the potential use of natural antioxidants to target oxidative stress. However, clinical trial results have lacked success for the treatment of patients with neurological disorders. The knowledge that natural extracts show other positive molecular activities in addition to antioxidant activity, however, has led to further research of natural extracts for their potential use as prevention or treatment/management of neurodegenerative diseases. This review will cover several in vitro and in vivo research studies, as well as clinical trials, and highlight the potential of natural antioxidants.
神经退行性疾病，包括阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病和亨廷顿病，是全球医疗保健系统面临的一个主要健康问题和经济负担。由于预期寿命的延长，这些疾病在未来几十年的影响将进一步增加。目前，尚无治疗这些疾病的方法；只有药物可以缓解症状。氧化应激与神经退行性变长期以来一直存在关联，无论是作为病因还是作为其他因素引起的下游结果的一部分。因此，使用抗氧化剂来对抗神经系统内的细胞氧化应激已被提议作为治疗神经紊乱的一种潜在选择。在过去十年中，大量研究集中在天然抗氧化剂用于靶向氧化应激的潜在用途上。然而，临床试验结果在治疗神经紊乱患者方面缺乏成功。然而，人们认识到天然提取物除了具有抗氧化活性外，还显示出其他积极的分子活性，这促使人们进一步研究天然提取物，以探讨其在预防或治疗/管理神经退行性疾病方面的潜在用途。这篇综述将涵盖一些体外和体内研究以及临床试验，并强调天然抗氧化剂的潜力。
