Medicinal plants for Alzheimer’s disease: An updated review

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is the major cause of dementia worldwide. The number of patients suffering from dementia continue to rise reaching pandemic levels. Alzheimer’s disease is highly debilitating; starting from memory complains leading ultimately to complete dependence and inability to perform daily living tasks. Late initiation of Alzheimer’s disease medications is argued to reduce their efficacy. The current treatment options provide symptomatic improvement without hindering the disease progression. The lack of disease-modifying drugs necessitates the development of newer therapeutic agents and different target-based strategies due to the complexity of underlying pathologies. Various plants and herbal preparations have been traditionally used for their memory and cognitive enhancing abilities; many of which were extensively studied in the last few years for therapeutic potential in Alzheimer’s disease. This review will focus on recent research finding regarding the efficacy of various plants according to their; cognitive enhancing, neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties in Alzheimer’s disease.