Anti-Alzheimer’s Molecules Derived from Marine Life: Understanding Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease and the most common cause of dementia. It has been confirmed that the pathological processes that intervene in AD development are linked with oxidative damage to neurons, neuroinflammation, tau phosphorylation, amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregation, glutamate excitotoxicity, and cholinergic deficit. Still, there is no available therapy that can cure AD. Available therapies only manage some of the AD symptoms at the early stages of AD. Various studies have revealed that bioactive compounds derived from marine organisms and plants can exert neuroprotective activities with fewer adverse events, as compared with synthetic drugs. Furthermore, marine organisms have been identified as a source of novel compounds with therapeutic potential. Thus, there is a growing interest regarding bioactive compounds derived from marine sources that have anti-AD potentials. Various marine drugs including bryostatin-1, homotaurine, anabaseine and its derivative, rifampicins, anhydroexfoliamycin, undecylprodigioisin, gracilins, 13-desmethyl spirolide-C, and dictyostatin displayed excellent bioavailability and efficacy against AD. Most of these marine drugs were found to be well-tolerated in AD patients, along with no significant drug-associated adverse events. In this review, we focus on the drugs derived from marine life that can be useful in AD treatment and also summarize the therapeutic agents that are currently used to treat AD.

Encapsulation of bryostatin-1 by targeted exosomes enhances remyelination and neuroprotection effects in the cuprizone-induced demyelinating animal model of multiple sclerosis

“…A previous study showed that Bryo possessed a significant neuroprotective effect. 16 The Bryo treatment group in this study also showed similar therapeutic effects in the cuprizone-induced model. In addition, Bryo encapsulated by exosomes further enhanced its neuroprotective effect.…”

“…Bryo is a natural product derived from the marine invertebrate Bugula neritina . 16 Previously, it was believed to have potent and broad anti-tumor and anti-inflammation activities. 24,45 Recently, Kornberg et al showed that Bryo has an apparent therapeutic activity for demyelinating diseases.…”

Exploitation of Marine Molecules to Manage Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Currently, bryostatin-1 is commercially obtained by synthesis. Cancer is the main area of research of bryostatin-1 and its derivatives, with studies including applications in apoptotic restoration, multidrug-resistance circumvention, immune system stimulation, and drug synergism [ 184 ]. The low concentration of bryostatins in bryozoans (i.e., a final yield of 0.00014% after extraction) makes extraction unviable for large-scale production [ 143 ].…”

Role of Withaferin A and Its Derivatives in the Management of Alzheimer’s Disease: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives

“…It has also been proposed that WA is the α,β-unsaturated ketone in ring A of common withanolides and may be produced through the sequence 20–23 [ 45 ]. Three sites are prone to Michael addition alkylation reactions and nucleophilic attacks, namely the unsaturated A-ring at C3, the epoxide structure at C5, and the E-ring at the C24 position [ 47 ]. Depicted in Figure 1 is the biosynthesis of WA.…”