Plant Extract can Treat Alzheimer’s Disease

Plant extract of the butterfly pea plant has properties that can help in neuroprotection and prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Butterfly pea plant is a common sight in many Indian gardens with its charming blue and white flowers. But its appeal doesn’t end there. Plant extract of this butterfly pea plant (Clitoria ternatea) has properties that can help in neuroprotection and prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease as per the study on tackling progression of Alzheimer’s disease, at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to gradual memory loss and behavioral changes due to brain cell death and brain shrinkage. It is characterized by the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain tissues, years before the actual symptoms occur.

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‘Plant extract (cyclotides) of the butterfly pea plant has antioxidant properties that can help in neuroprotection and prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The peptide mixtures provide strong evidence for the beneficial value of cyclotides against the amyloid beta aggregate formation.’

There are many anecdotes about the plant’s memory-enhancing properties that could be repurposed for society and it has long been used in traditional Indian medicine. The team extracted and isolated a set of ultrastable cyclic peptides from the plant to test them on the tiny nematode – Caenorhabditis elegans and recorded their impact on neurons.

“Using a soil-dwelling nematode like C. elegans as a model is valuable as these worms have conserved gene function, short life cycle and are experimentally tractable,” says Dr. RadhikaVenkatesan, corresponding author of the study.

Effect of Butterfly Pea Plant on Alzheimer’s Disease

Genetics of Alzheimer’s disease
There are numerous genes that have been discovered that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and indicate increased risk, aiding genetic counseling and better care.

The AD neurotoxicity can be induced in worms that are further manifested as paralysis in muscles, chemotaxis defects such as movement deficits towards chemical cues, and oxidative stress.

It was observed that cyclotides protected neurons against the aggregate formation. Worms that fed on cyclotides showed significantly less paralysis than those that did not. Since oxidative stress is a commonly related process in Alzheimer’s, the peptide mixtures also displayed antioxidant properties, which further provides strong evidence for the beneficial value of cyclotides.

Common Lifestyle Habits that Cause Diseases
Cigarette smoking, unhealthy diets, overuse of alcohol, and physical inactivity are some of the most common lifestyle habits that cause chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The study thereby highlights the fact that molecules extracted from the common butterfly pea plant protected neurons against the amyloid beta aggregate formation.

Source-Medindia

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