Potential Therapeutic Applications of Plant-Derived Alkaloids against Inflammatory and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

Alkaloids are a type of natural compound possessing different pharmacological activities. Natural products, including alkaloids, which originate from plants, have emerged as potential protective agents against neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) and chronic inflammations. A wide array of prescription drugs are used against these conditions, however, not free of limitations of potency, side effects, and intolerability. In the context of personalized medicine, further research on alkaloids to unravel novel therapeutic approaches in reducing complications is critical. In this review, a systematic survey was executed to collect the literature on alkaloids and their health complications, from which we found that majority of alkaloids exhibit anti-inflammatory action via nuclear factor-κB and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and neuroprotective interaction through acetylcholinesterase (AChE), COX, and β-site amyloid precursor protein activity. In silico ADMET and ProTox-II-related descriptors were calculated to predict the pharmacological properties of 280 alkaloids isolated from traditional medicinal plants towards drug development. Out of which, eight alkaloids such as tetrahydropalmatine, berberine, tetrandrine, aloperine, sinomenine, oxymatrine, harmine, and galantamine are found to be optimal within the categorical range when compared to nicotine. These alkaloids could be exploited as starting materials for novel drug synthesis or, to a lesser extent, manage inflammation and neurodegenerative-related complications.

Characterization of Bioactive Metabolites and Antioxidant Activities in Solid and Liquid Fractions of Fresh Duckweed (Wolffia globosa) Subjected to Different Cell Wall Rupture Methods

“…Previous studies have identified embelin in marine macroalgae, such as Turbinaria species . The presence of alkaloids protects against chronic diseases such as inflammatory and neurogenerative diseases, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia, and cholesterol reduction …”

“…Previous studies have identified embelin in marine macroalgae, such as Turbinaria species. 78 The presence of alkaloids protects against chronic diseases such as inflammatory and neurogenerative diseases, 79 hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia, 80 and cholesterol reduction. 81 Plant terpenes metabolites have been shown to have a wide range of biological activities, including cancer chemoprevention, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antihyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, and antiparasitic effects.…”

In vitro and in vivo Pharmacological Studies of Leaves of Staurogyne argentea Wall.

“…The result of preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of bioactive components such as flavonoids, alkaloids in the test materials of S. argentea. Studies have revealed that alkaloids can block the synthesis of prostaglandin (Aryal et al, 2022;Backhouse et al, 1994), finally dropping raised body temperature in animals. Likewise, flavonoids have been implicated as an antipyretic agent by suppressing TNF-α (Ginwala et al, 2019).…”

Biology of cyclooxygenase-2: An application in depression therapeutics

“…Cyclo-oxygen-ase (COX) is an inflammatory mediator that regulates the inflammatory response and a key rate-limiting enzyme in the initial steps of prostaglandin (PGs) synthesis ( 4 ). PGs have a central role in the induction of the inflammatory response and can be synthesized in inflamed and damaged tissues, thus they are associated with the development of acute inflammatory swelling and painful symptoms ( 5 ). Among them, PGI2 and PGE2 are involved in vascular permeability, tissue swelling and gastric mucus secretion, which are typical symptoms of inflammation ( 6 ).…”