Scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have established that highly abundant naturally occurring plant-based polyphenols (PPs) like tannic acid found in twigs of trees like Chestnut and Oak can modulate the ferroptosis-AD axis to yield a safe, cost-effective strategy for combating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and reduce the societal burden of this debilitating neurodegenerative disorder.
In a study, the scientists presented naturally occurring polyphenols (PPs) as innovative and multimodal therapeutic agents with dual capabilities to ameliorate ferroptosis and AD.
Progressive disorder
According to the Department of Science and Technology, AD is a widely prevalent progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by memory and cognitive decline, yet it remains poorly understood despite decades of dedicated research. As a consequence of this, there are no therapeutics to completely cure the disease.
The study published in the journal, ‘Chemical Sciences’ which steers research toward ferroptosis inhibitors presents a new dimension for drug development.
“This discovery may inspire medicinal chemists to explore new and derivatives of natural compounds to enhance therapeutic efficacy against AD,” Department of Science and Technology said.
“The discovery of a natural polyphenol, TA as a GPX4 activator that ameliorates Aβ induced ferroptosis holds great significance and this study presents new opportunities for the synergistic inhibition of ferroptosis in AD,” it added.