Dementia is a clinical syndrome wherein gradual decline of mental and cognitive capabilities of an afflicted person takes place. Dementia is associated with various risk factors and conditions such as insufficient cerebral blood supply, toxin exposure, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage, and often coexisting with some neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). Although there are well-established (semi-)synthetic drugs currently used for the management of AD and AD-associated dementia, most of them have several adverse effects. Thus, traditional medicine provides various plant-derived lead molecules that may be useful for further medical research. Herein we review the worldwide use of ethnomedicinal plants in dementia treatment. We have explored a number of recognized databases by using keywords and phrases such as “dementia”, “Alzheimer's,” “traditional medicine,” “ethnopharmacology,” “ethnobotany,” “herbs,” “medicinal plants” or other relevant terms, and summarized 90 medicinal plants that are traditionally used to treat dementia. Moreover, we highlight five medicinal plants or plant genera of prime importance and discuss the physiological effects, as well as the mechanism of action of their major bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the link between mitochondrial dysfunction and dementia is also discussed. We conclude that several drugs of plant origin may serve as promising therapeutics for the treatment of dementia, however, pivotal evidence for their therapeutic efficacy in advanced clinical studies is still lacking.
Diabetes affects a large population of the world. Lifestyle, obesity, dietary habits, and genetic factors contribute to this metabolic disease. A target pathway to control diabetes is the 5′‐adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. AMPK is a heterotrimeric protein with α, β, and γ subunits. In several studies, AMPK activation enhanced glucose uptake into cells and inhibited intracellular glucose production. Impairment of AMPK activity is present in diabetes, according to some studies. Drugs used in the treatment of diabetes, such as metformin, are also known to act through regulation of AMPK. Thus, drugs that activate and regulate AMPK are potential candidates for the treatment of diabetes. In addition, many patients encounter important adverse effects, like hypoglycemia, while using allopathic drugs. As a result, the investigation of plant‐derived natural drugs that lack adverse side effects and treat diabetes is necessary. Natural products like berberine, quercetin, resveratrol, and so forth have shown significant potential in regulating and activating the AMPK pathway which can lead to manage diabetes mellitus and its complications.
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Reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) collectively known as reactive oxygen and nitrogen
species (RONS) are the products of normal cellular metabolism and interact with several vital biomolecules including nucleic acid,
proteins, and membrane lipids and alter their function in an irreversible manner which can lead finally to cell death. There is an
imperative role for oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of cognitive impairments and the development and progression of neural
injury. Elevated production of higher amounts of nitric oxide (NO) takes place in numerous pathological conditions such as
neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, and ischemia which occur concurrently with elevated nitrosative/oxidative stress. The
enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is responsible for the generation of NO in different cells by conversion of L-arginine (Arg) to
L-citrulline. Therefore, the NO signaling pathway represents a viable therapeutic target. Naturally occurring polyphenols targeting
the NO signaling pathway can be of major importance in the field of neurodegeneration and related complications. Here we
comprehensively review the importance of NO and its production in the human body and afterwards highlight the importance of
various natural products along with their mechanisms against various neurodegenerative diseases involving their effect on NO
production.
A fluid sphere in general relativityAn analytic solution of the relativistic field equations is obtained for a static, spherically symmetric distribution of charged fluid. The arbitrary constants are determined by matching it with the Reissner-Nordstrom solution over the boundary. The distribution behaves like a charged perfect gas. As a particular case a solution for a spherical distribution of charged incoherent matter is deduced where the charge density and the mass density are equal in magnitude. In the absence of the charge, the solution reduces to Tolman's solution VI with B = 0.
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