Herba Sideritis: Insights from a Herbal Monograph with Particular Reference to Adaptogenic Potential in Neurodegenerative Disorders and Aging-related Cognitive Decline | Book Publisher International

Background: Greek mountain tea (GMT), Herba Sideritis (Sideritis scardica Griseb.), is traditionally used to treat the common cold and mild gastrointestinal disorders. Sideritis spp. has been characterized as a genus with more than 150 perennial species widely distributed in the Mediterranean and the Canary and Madeira Islands. GMT was adopted in 2015 in the European Union as a traditional herbal medicine. Recent studies suggest its potential efficacy for reducing the risk of age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, which could be associated with the common mechanisms of action.

 

Aims and Hypothesis: The aims of this monograph were: (i) to systematically update new evidence of the quality, efficacy, and safety of GMT preparations and validate their potential health benefits, and (ii) to elaborate a rationale for a mode of polyvalent pharmacological action, which is likely associated with a regulation of the neuroendocrine-immune complex (stress system).

 

Methods: Literature screening using the Pubmed database and original publications were assessed according to WHO criteria for monographs of herbal medicines.

 

Results: Sideritis scardica extracts and its ingredient phenylethyl-phenylpropanoid glycoside acteoside (AC, syn. verbascoside) exhibited cognitive improvement, stress-protective, neuroprotective, neurogenesis, anxiolytic, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, gastroprotective, glycemic, anti-obesity, antioxidant, and anti-tumor activity. According to the findings, the combination of Sideritis scardica with vitamin B may be relevant for persons solving cognitive tasks under conflict and/or noise (e.g., open-plan offices or car-driving) and support that the tested product alleviates stress-induced impairment of executive functioning (working memory, cognitive flexibility, controlled behavioral inhibition). The recent findings supported by preclinical and clinical data suggest using Herba Sideritis extracts to improve cognitive functions and mental disorders in aging.

 

 

 

Conclusion: This monograph provides systematic information on the safety, efficacy, and quality of Herba Sideritis, paving the way for its potential use in reducing the risk of age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders. It includes details of botanical descriptions, chemical constituents, dosage recommendations, adverse effects, and interactions for health professionals, researchers, and policymakers aiding in evidence-based practices and ensuring the safe use of medicinal products. Further preclinical and clinical research is crucial to fully validate GMT's health benefits and unravel the mechanisms underlying its adaptogenic effects.

 

 

Author (s) Details

Alexander Panossian
Phytomed AB, Sjostadsvagen 6A, Lgh 1004, 59344 Vastervik, Sweden.

 

Terrence Lemerond
EuroPharma USA Inc., Green Bay, WI 54311, USA.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-48119-26-1

Immunosenescence and Elderly: Importance of Immune System in Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurodegenerative Disorders | Chapter 1 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 5

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic multifactorial and complex neuro-degenerative disorder characterized by memory impairment and loss of cognitive ability which is a plight for the elderly. AD is an aging brain pathology, and maybe it is a combination of different diseases or various symptoms that are orchestrated in common. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and it may contribute to 60–70% of cases. Pathologically intracellular accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated Tau protein to form neurofibrillary tangles, extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition to form senile plaques, neural disconnection, neural deaths and synaptic dysfunction within the brain are hallmark pathologies that characterize AD. The prevalence of the disease continues to increase globally due to the increase in longevity, quality of life, and medical treatment for chronic diseases that decrease mortality and enhance the survival among elderly. Medical awareness and accurate diagnosis of the disease also contribute to the high prevalence observed globally. Unfortunately, no magic treatment exists to modify the course of AD, and no available treatment is capable to mitigate the cognitive decline or reversing the pathology of the disease yet.

 

A Plethora of hypothesis beginning from cholinergic to the dominant Aβ cascade hypothesis to the abnormally excessive phosphorylated Tau protein were reported. Various explanations for the pathogenesis of AD such as abnormal excitation of glutamate system and mitochondrial dysfunction were also suggested. Despite the continuous stumble to deliver significant benefits and effective treatment for this agonizing global aging illness, multiprong approaches and strategies to ameliorate the disease course are urgently needed based on the knowledge of the underpinning pathogenesis of AD.

 

Immunosenescence is a procedure of immune deficit that appears with age (inflammaging process) and encompasses remodeling of lymphoid organs, leading to alterations in the immune function and neuroinflammation in advanced aging, which is closely linked to the outgrowth of infections, autoimmune diseases, and malignant cancers. It is well known that long-standing inflammation influence badly the brain over the course of a lifetime due to the senescence of the immune system.

 

Herein, we want to trace the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of AD, thus we are going to explore alternative avenues, such as neuroimmune involvement in the pathogenesis of AD. Determination of the initial triggers engaged in neuroinflammation, which is an early episode of the presymptomatic stages of AD and contributes to the advancement of the disease and the underlying key mechanisms of brain damage that might help the development of therapeutic strategies to combat this devastating disease. In addition, this study represents how different aspects of the immune system, both in the brain and peripherally, behave to contribute to AD.

Author(s) Details:

Abdalla Bowirrat,
Department of Molecular Biology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.

Aia Bowirrat M. D.,
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hasharon Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikwa, Israel.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/NVMMS-V5/article/view/14150