Alzheimer’s Disease: A Role of Biomarkers in Early Diagnosis and Evidences from African Ethnomedicinal Knowledge

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurological ailment that primarily affects the elderly and necessitates an efficient treatment regimen backed up by extensive care. At the moment, treatment for AD is still in its early stages and is often regarded as insufficient by the medical community, with synthetic medications commonly used that have several side-effects. Consequently, research groups are constantly attempting to improve its early detection, particularly through biomarkers, as well as to find effective complementary and alternative therapies for its management. Medicinal plants have long been used as a source of biomolecules as well as complementary medicines. Africa ranks second among biodiversity hotspots in the world due to geographical variances in distribution and vegetation zones. In comparison to nations like India and China, it is believed that much of its biodiversity remains unexplored, and that it may be home to many previously unknown medicinal plants. This calls for more research on African medicinal herbs and finding a key remedy to treat and manage AD. The major scientific biomedical literature databases viz. PubMed, Scifinder, The Lens, Google Scholar, etc. were accessed and the information available till September 2022 was reviewed, with a focus on documenting such herbs along with their active biomolecules that could lead to noble drugs against AD. Also, the review has looked up on the risk factors prevalent among African communities to have a perspective on how race may affect AD risk and expression.