Neuroprotective Herbs and Foods from Different Traditional Medicines and Diets

Molecules

Marcello Iriti¹  Sara Vitalini¹  Gelsomina Fico¹ 

[1] ¹Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy ²Dipartimento Agroalimentare, CNR-IVV, Milano, Italy ³Orto Botanico ‘GE Ghirardi’, Università degli Studi di Milano, Toscolano Maderno, Brescia, Italy ⁴Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy

关键词: Ayurvedic medicine;    Mediterranean diet;    neurodegenerative diseases;    nutritional therapy;    phytotherapy;    Traditional Chinese Medicine;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules15053517

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Plant secondary metabolites include an array of bioactive constituents form both medicinal and food plants able to improve human health. The exposure to these phytochemicals, including phenylpropanoids, isoprenoids and alkaloids, through correct dietary habits, may promote health benefits, protecting against the chronic degenerative disorders mainly seen in Western industrialized countries, such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we briefly deal with some plant foods and herbs of traditional medicines and diets, focusing on their neuroprotective active components. Because oxidative stress and neuroinflammation resulting from neuroglial activation, at the level of neurons, microglial cells and astrocytes, are key factors in the etiopathogenesis of both neurodegenerative and neurological diseases, emphasis will be placed on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity exerted by specific molecules present in food plants or in remedies prescribed by herbal medicines.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.