Marine-Derived Components: Can They Be a Potential Therapeutic Approach to Parkinson’s Disease?

Abstract

The increase in the life expectancy average has led to a growing elderly population, thus leading to a prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The marine environment has proven to be a source of unique and diverse chemical structures with great therapeutic potential to be used in the treatment of several pathologies, including neurodegenerative impairments. This review is focused on compounds isolated from marine organisms with neuroprotective activities on in vitro and in vivo models based on their chemical structures, taxonomy, neuroprotective effects, and their possible mechanism of action in PD. About 60 compounds isolated from marine bacteria, fungi, mollusk, sea cucumber, seaweed, soft coral, sponge, and starfish with neuroprotective potential on PD therapy are reported. Peptides, alkaloids, quinones, terpenes, polysaccharides, polyphenols, lipids, pigments, and mycotoxins were isolated from those marine organisms. They can act in several PD hallmarks, reducing oxidative stress, preventing mitochondrial dysfunction, α-synuclein aggregation, and blocking inflammatory pathways through the inhibition translocation of NF-kB factor, reduction of human tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). This review gathers the marine natural products that have shown pharmacological activities acting on targets belonging to different intracellular signaling pathways related to PD development, which should be considered for future pre-clinical studies.

Editorial: Natural products as drivers in drug development for neurodegenerative disorders, volume II

“…By 2050, it is projected that the elderly population (aged >60 years) will surpass the number of young individuals (aged <15 years). Furthermore, the WHO anticipates that in the near future, neurodegenerative disorders will surpass cancer as the second most common cause of death, with cardiovascular diseases retaining their position as the most common cause (Silva et al, 2023). Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), encompass a diverse group of chronic pathological conditions characterized by the gradual loss of the structure and functions of the central nervous system or peripheral nervous system (Rehman et al, 2023).…”