Functional Foods: An Approach to Modulate Molecular Mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

A new epoch is emerging with intense research on nutraceuticals, i.e., “food or food product that provides medical or health benefits including the prevention and treatment of diseases”, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Nutraceuticals act at different biochemical and metabolic levels and much evidence shows their neuroprotective effects; in particular, they are able to provide protection against mitochondrial damage, oxidative stress, toxicity of β-amyloid and Tau and cell death. They have been shown to influence the composition of the intestinal microbiota significantly contributing to the discovery that differential microorganisms composition is associated with the formation and aggregation of cerebral toxic proteins. Further, the routes of interaction between epigenetic mechanisms and the microbiota–gut–brain axis have been elucidated, thus establishing a modulatory role of diet-induced epigenetic changes of gut microbiota in shaping the brain. This review examines recent scientific literature addressing the beneficial effects of some natural products for which mechanistic evidence to prevent or slowdown AD are available. Even if the road is still long, the results are already exceptional.

Targeting Impaired Antimicrobial Immunity in the Brain for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

“…8 In this context, a balanced anti-inflammatory diet such as the Mediterranean or the Asian diet may be successful candidates. [277][278][279][280][281][282][283] In contrast to the western diet, these…”

“…Many components such as polyphenols, short chain fatty acids, flavonoids, proteins, vitamins B, curcumin and oligoelements (including selenium, copper, cobalt, magnesium) assure a healthy homeodynamic milieu decreasing the pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidant and epigenetic modulatory effects of the internal and external challenges. 178,[280][281][282][283][284][285][286][287][288][289][290][291][292] These diets have not only the advantage to decrease the propensity for chronic inflammations, but also reinforce the adaptive immune response. 172,[293][294][295] Recently GV-971, a new drug meant to regulate gut flora imbalance and reshape immune homeostasis, was approved in 2019 in China.…”

Brain Ischemia as a Prelude to Alzheimer's Disease

“…Regarding the two potentially dangerous substances blamed for the green light in Alzheimer's disease, recent data show that amyloid and tau protein pathology should be triggered by some factors and then interact with each other, exerting a synergistic deleterious effect on the neural network, which is believed to initiate the progression of Alzheimer's disease (Morris et al, 2018 ). It is certain that alterations of amyloid and tau protein are currently ruled out as the sole cause of dementia, as it does not explain why about half of the world's population over the age of 45 have amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles without dementia (Katzman, 1988 ; Price et al, 1992 ; Rowe et al, 2007 ; Jagust et al, 2009 ; Knopman et al, 2013 ; Atlante et al, 2020 ). The presence of amyloid plaques, which do not cause any disturbance, has been found in older adults who identify themselves with excellent cognitive functions (Katzman, 1988 ; Price et al, 1992 ; Rowe et al, 2007 ; Jagust et al, 2009 ; Knopman et al, 2013 ; Atlante et al, 2020 ).…”

“…It is certain that alterations of amyloid and tau protein are currently ruled out as the sole cause of dementia, as it does not explain why about half of the world's population over the age of 45 have amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles without dementia (Katzman, 1988 ; Price et al, 1992 ; Rowe et al, 2007 ; Jagust et al, 2009 ; Knopman et al, 2013 ; Atlante et al, 2020 ). The presence of amyloid plaques, which do not cause any disturbance, has been found in older adults who identify themselves with excellent cognitive functions (Katzman, 1988 ; Price et al, 1992 ; Rowe et al, 2007 ; Jagust et al, 2009 ; Knopman et al, 2013 ; Atlante et al, 2020 ). In these subjects, the average neurofibrillary tangle concentration was observed to increase exponentially with age (Price and Morris, 1999 ).…”

A Walk in the Memory, from the First Functional Approach up to Its Regulatory Role of Mitochondrial Bioenergetic Flow in Health and Disease: Focus on the Adenine Nucleotide Translocator

“…That ANT is a target of ROS in apoptosis was further confirmed by the use of certain dietary flavonoids known to exert beneficial effects on the central nervous system and to affect neuronal apoptosis [ 160 , 161 ]. The flavonoids genistein and daidzein, which are present in soy, but not catechin or epicatechin, which are present in cocoa, all used in a dietary blood concentration range, were found to prevent apoptosis in a manner consistent with their antioxidant activity [ 148 ], as depicted in Figure 3 .…”