Ali Amira Mohammed, Kunugi Hiroshi
Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-0031, Japan.
Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21527, Egypt.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Sep 29;9(10):937. doi: 10.3390/antiox9100937.
The astronomical increase of the world's aged population is associated with the increased prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, heightened disability, and extremely high costs of care. Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a widespread, age-related, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that has enormous social and financial drawbacks worldwide. The unsatisfactory outcomes of available AD pharmacotherapy necessitate the search for alternative natural resources that can target various the underlying mechanisms of AD pathology and reduce disease occurrence and/or progression. Royal jelly (RJ) is the main food of bee queens; it contributes to their fertility, long lifespan, and memory performance. It represents a potent nutraceutical with various pharmacological properties, and has been used in a number of preclinical studies to target AD and age-related cognitive deterioration. To understand the mechanisms through which RJ affects cognitive performance both in natural aging and AD, we reviewed the literature, elaborating on the metabolic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms that mediate its anti-AD effects. Preclinical findings revealed that RJ acts as a multidomain cognitive enhancer that can restore cognitive performance in aged and AD models. It promotes brain cell survival and function by targeting multiple adversities in the neuronal microenvironment such as inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial alterations, impaired proteostasis, amyloid-β toxicity, Ca excitotoxicity, and bioenergetic challenges. Human trials using RJ in AD are limited in quantity and quality. Here, the limitations of RJ-based treatment strategies are discussed, and directions for future studies examining the effect of RJ in cognitively impaired subjects are noted.
全球老年人口数量的天文数字增长与神经退行性疾病患病率上升、残疾加剧以及护理成本极高相关。阿尔茨海默病（AD）是一种广泛存在的、与年龄相关的多因素神经退行性疾病，在全球范围内具有巨大的社会和经济弊端。现有AD药物治疗效果不尽人意，因此有必要寻找能够针对AD病理多种潜在机制并减少疾病发生和/或进展的替代天然资源。蜂王浆（RJ）是蜂王的主要食物；它有助于蜂王的生育能力、长寿和记忆表现。它是一种具有多种药理特性的有效营养保健品，已在多项临床前研究中用于针对AD和与年龄相关的认知衰退。为了了解RJ在自然衰老和AD中影响认知表现的机制，我们回顾了文献，阐述了介导其抗AD作用的代谢、分子和细胞机制。临床前研究结果表明，RJ作为一种多领域认知增强剂，可以恢复衰老和AD模型中的认知表现。它通过针对神经元微环境中的多种不利因素，如炎症、氧化应激、线粒体改变、蛋白质稳态受损、淀粉样β毒性、钙兴奋性毒性和生物能量挑战，来促进脑细胞的存活和功能。在AD中使用RJ的人体试验在数量和质量上都有限。在此，讨论了基于RJ的治疗策略的局限性，并指出了未来研究RJ对认知受损受试者影响的方向。
