Plant-derived acetylcholinesterase inhibitory alkaloids for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

nt-derived acetylcholinesterase inhibitory alkaloids for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease Review (793) Total Article Views Authors: Dall'Acqua S Published Date January 2013 Volume 2013:3 Pages 19 - 28 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/BTAT.S17297 Received: 18 February 2012 Accepted: 26 September 2012 Published: 11 January 2013 Stefano Dall'Acqua Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy Abstract: The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been one of the most used strategies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The AChE inhibitors (AChE-I) produce not only short-term symptomatic effects, but can also play a role in other pathological mechanisms of the disease (eg, formation of amyloid-β plaques), which has renewed interest in the discovery of such inhibitors. Four of the five currently prescribed treatments for AD are AChE-I. Natural alkaloids such as galantamine or alkaloid-related synthetic compounds (such as rivastigmine) are considered beneficial for patients with mild-to-moderate AD. However, there is a need for the discovery of more effective compounds and for this reason, plants can still be a potential source of new AChE-I. Findings and advances in knowledge about natural alkaloids as potential new drugs acting as AChE-I will be summarized in this paper.