Organoselenium Compounds as Potential Therapeutic Agents for Treating Brain Disorders

Abstract

Among the inorganic elements, selenium is one of the essential entities required in trace amounts. Selenium (Se) has a vital role to play in brain physiology. It is well demonstrated that an abnormal level of selenium is the cause of the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases. As selenium levels are age-dependent, deficiency of Se is well correlated with cognitive disability with aging which further correlates with Alzheimer’s disease. Organoselenium compounds are considered an essential therapeutic class of compounds as they have gained a wide spectrum of applications in biotransformation and are well-studied by several researchers. In recent years, a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of organoselenium compounds in attenuating disease are done. A literature search on PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases was done using the keywords “organoselenium compounds, brain disorder, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's' disease, neurodegenerative disorders. The introduction of selenium as a functional group in aryl and heteroaryl compounds has given the lead for treating various brain ailments including Alzheimer's disease, depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, etc. The organoselenium compounds are also potent antioxidants and are promising chemical entities for further studies.