A Review on Phytochemical Constituents used as Current Treatment Strategies for Neurodegenerative Disease

In today's time, a diversity of neurodegenerative diseases that widely affect the CNS causing insufficiency in particular brain processes such as memory, mobility, and cognition due to the moderate loss of CNS neurons. This review emphasizes different phytochemical constituents used widely for the prevention or treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Berberin (BBR), which is an isoquinoline class of alkaloid and isolated from the plant Hydrastis condenses and Berberis aaristata, has both acetylcholine esterase (AChE) inhibiting properties as well as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibiting properties involved in the betterment of AD by decreasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Like BBR, Physostigmine, isolated from the Physostigma venenosum / Calabar bean and belongs to the family Leguminosae, and Morphine, isolated from the plant Papaver somniferum / Opium poppy or Breadseed poppy, also has a significant impact on the management and treatment of AD and PD by reducing both neuroinflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Morphine bineurodegenerative diseases with μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in CNS elevate GABA levels in the synaptic cleft of the brain and reduces the neurotoxicity via stimulation of MOR. It has been discovered that physostigmine improves cognitive function in AD patients and reduces α-synuclein expression in PD neural cell lines. Isorhyncophylline (IRN) is a Chinese herbal medicine isolated from the plant Uncaria rhyncophylla which provides neuroprotective efficiency against neurotoxicity that occurs by amyloid β (the main component of amyloid plaques) found in the brain of people with AD.