Zhang Qian, Yan Yaping
National Engineering Laboratory for Resource Development of Endangered Crude Drugs in Northwest China; Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The Ministry of Education; College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
Neural Regen Res. 2023 Dec;18(12):2582-2591. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.373680.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects a large proportion of older adult people and is characterized by memory loss, progressive cognitive impairment, and various behavioral disturbances. Although the pathological mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease are complex and remain unclear, previous research has identified two widely accepted pathological characteristics: extracellular neuritic plaques containing amyloid beta peptide, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing tau. Furthermore, research has revealed the significant role played by neuroinflammation over recent years. The inflammatory microenvironment mainly consists of microglia, astrocytes, the complement system, chemokines, cytokines, and reactive oxygen intermediates; collectively, these factors can promote the pathological process and aggravate the severity of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the development of new drugs that can target neuroinflammation will be a significant step forward for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Flavonoids are plant-derived secondary metabolites that possess various bioactivities. Previous research found that multiple natural flavonoids could exert satisfactory treatment effects on the neuroinflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease. In this review, we describe the pathogenesis and neuroinflammatory processes of Alzheimer's disease, and summarize the effects and mechanisms of 13 natural flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, naringenin, quercetin, morin, kaempferol, fisetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, rutin, icariin, mangiferin, and anthocyanin) derived from plants or medicinal herbs on neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease. As an important resource for the development of novel compounds for the treatment of critical diseases, it is essential that we focus on the exploitation of natural products. In particular, it is vital that we investigate the effects of flavonoids on the neuroinflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease in greater detail.
阿尔茨海默病是一种神经退行性疾病，影响着很大一部分老年人，其特征是记忆力丧失、进行性认知障碍和各种行为紊乱。尽管阿尔茨海默病的病理机制复杂且尚不清楚，但先前的研究已经确定了两个被广泛接受的病理特征：含有β-淀粉样肽的细胞外神经炎斑块和含有tau蛋白的细胞内神经原纤维缠结。此外，近年来的研究揭示了神经炎症所起的重要作用。炎症微环境主要由小胶质细胞、星形胶质细胞、补体系统、趋化因子、细胞因子和活性氧中间体组成；这些因素共同作用可促进病理过程并加重阿尔茨海默病的严重程度。因此，开发能够靶向神经炎症的新药将是治疗阿尔茨海默病的重要一步。黄酮类化合物是植物来源的次生代谢产物，具有多种生物活性。先前的研究发现，多种天然黄酮类化合物对与阿尔茨海默病相关的神经炎症可发挥令人满意的治疗效果。在这篇综述中，我们描述了阿尔茨海默病的发病机制和神经炎症过程，并总结了13种源自植物或草药的天然黄酮类化合物（芹菜素、木犀草素、柚皮素、槲皮素、桑色素、山奈酚、漆黄素、异槲皮苷、黄芪苷、芦丁、淫羊藿苷、芒果苷和花青素）对阿尔茨海默病神经炎症的作用及机制。作为开发治疗重大疾病新化合物的重要资源，我们必须专注于天然产物的开发利用。特别是，更详细地研究黄酮类化合物对与阿尔茨海默病相关的神经炎症的影响至关重要。
