Current Neuropharmacology - Volume 11, Issue 4, 2013

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a polyphenol extracted from the plant Curcuma longa, is widely used in Southeast Asia, China and India in food preparation and for medicinal purposes. Since the second half of the last century, this traditional medicine has attracted the attention of scientists from multiple disciplines to elucidate its pharmacological properties. Of significant interest is curcumin’s role to treat neurodegenerative Read More

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (EC 3.1.1.7) is an important enzyme that breaks down of acetylcholine in synaptic cleft in neuronal junctions. Inhibition of AChE is associated with treatment of several diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), myasthenia gravis, and glaucoma as well as the mechanisms of insecticide and anthelmintic drugs. Several AChE inhibitors are available in clinical use currently for the treatment of AD; Read More

As acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are an important therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer’s disease, efforts are being made in search of new molecules with anti-AChE activity. The fact that naturally-occurring compounds from plants are considered to be a potential source of new inhibitors has led to the discovery of an important number of secondary metabolites and plant extracts with the ability of inhibiting the enzyme AC Read More

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder to date, with no curative or preventive therapy. Histopathological hallmarks of AD include deposition of β-amyloid plaques and formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Extent studies on pathology of the disease have made important discoveries regarding mechanism of disease and potential therapeutic targets. Many cellular changes including oxidativ Read More

Although the exact cause of neuronal loss in Parkinson’s disease is not known, evidence points to oxidative stress and the production of reactive oxygen species as the main events that occur in the substantia nigra pars compacta of the brain of parkinsonians. EGb761 is an extract of the leaves from the Ginkgo biloba tree that has been reported as an antioxidant and neuroprotective agent. The objective of this work was t Read More

Recently, mass spectrometric related techniques have been widely applied for the identification and quantification of neurochemicals and their metabolites in biofluids. This article presents an overview of mass spectrometric techniques applied in the detection of neurological substances and their metabolites from biological samples. In addition, the advances of chromatographic methods (LC, GC and CE) coupled with mass sp Read More