A Triterpenoid Lupeol as an Antioxidant and Anti-Neuroinflammatory Agent: Impacts on Oxidative Stress in Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease illustrated by neuronal dysfunctions, leading to memory weaknesses and personality changes mostly in the aged population worldwide. The exact cause of AD is unclear, but numerous studies have addressed the involvement of oxidative stress (OS), induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS), to be one of the leading causes in developing AD. OS dysregulates the cellular homeostasis, causing abnormal protein and lipid metabolism. Nutrition plays a pivotal role in modulating the antioxidant system and decreases the neuronal ROS level, thus playing an important therapeutic role in neurodegenerative diseases, especially in AD. Hence, medicinal herbs and their extracts have received global attention as a commercial source of antioxidants Lupeol. Lupeol is a pentacyclic triterpenoid and has many biological functions. It is available in fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants. It has shown effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and higher blood–brain barrier permeability. Also, the binding and inhibitory potentials of Lupeol have been investigated and proved to be effective against certain receptor proteins and enzymes in AD studies by computational molecular docking approaches. Therefore, AD-related research has gained interest in investigating the therapeutic effects of Lupeol. However, despite its beneficial effects in AD, there is still a lack of research in Lupeol. Hence, we compiled in this analysis all preclinical research that looked at Lupeol as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent for AD.

Protective effects of lupeol in rats with renal ischemia‑reperfusion injury

“…Although lupeol can be found in various fruits, consumption of ≥555 g/kg mango fruit is needed to reach the dose of 100 mg/kg lupeol in humans, which was used in the present experimental study. By contrast, the oral bioavailability of lupeol was previously reported to be #x003C;1% ( 18 ). Therefore, lupeol may be more appropriately applied as a drug instead of a dietary supplement.…”

“…It has been previously tested in clinical studies for the treatment of cancer (such as bone, liver, lung, colon, rectum and bladder), actinic keratosis and nocturnal enuresis ( 17-19 ). In a study conducted with actinic keratosis patients, the birch-bark-containing Lupeol managed to clear 75% of the lesions ( 18 ). It was determined that there was a significant decrease in the number of day frequency, nocturia and total incontinence with lupeol treatment ( 19 ).…”

Lupeol protect against LPS-induced neuroinflammation and amyloid beta in adult mouse hippocampus

“…Natural-derived compounds such as flavonoids show great potential in improving learning and memory functions has been confirmed by various research studies ( 5 , 41 , 42 ). Lupeol also has a beneficial effect on memory and cognitive functions ( 43 , 44 ). Nevertheless, several studies have explored that systemic LPS administration induces memory and cognitive dysfunction ( 45–47 ).…”